Recent Works by Jay Bright
“This series of inscrutable, imagined flags connects to the weight of world news, and my inner life. I hesitate to interfere with the viewer’s interpretation, so only supply the clue of the upside-down flag a distress symbol. The moods range from celebratory, puzzling and lost in the fog of war. Some levity seeps in with the titles like Ukramerican and Amuk in later variations.
I started making a few small Ukrainian flags to put in my windows. Out of nowhere, I began drafting the US flag canton (rectangle for the star field) and stripe pattern. I laid out the star field (a few short due to a drafting mistake) and enjoyed Xing in the stars. I added yellow stripes because my original field was too orange. Later I added lighter blue stripes to lighten the top field. Unsatisfied with the remaining orange, I scribbled more yellow and blue to punch up the color, finally arriving at an image where the US flag is almost totally obscured-suggesting the fog of war. More recently I have been inverting and mirroring the elements to get reflections and inscrutable jumbles.
So far, the works are small 4” x 6” - 8 ½” x 11”. They are done in water-soluble pencil, watercolor, ink, graphite & colored pencils, acrylic, gouache and archival ink jet on colored matt board, Stonehenge paper and on 20# bond with Krylon Preserve It! spray. The prints cannot have the glow of the computer screen, so I am happy to have a digital show that celebrates the brilliance I found by editing in Picassa, a primitive version of Photoshop. The collection has grown to 124 images, including prints displayed in windows in distant locations. Sizes and pricing are on my website.
I have sent this image to art friends, relatives, associates and politicians with links to vetted charities, hoping they might be able to donate — donations can be made here and here. Donors will receive a print of the Amerikrainian flag; reach out via my email or website to receive your print!
My second goal is for folks to put this image in their windows and send a photo to jaybright33@gmail.com. So far it is in AL, CA, CT, DC, IL, MI, WA, PA and Paris!”