Dave Matthews Band – Autumn Fire Fox

One thing that makes every artist’s heart skip a beat are rush jobs! These sort of situations rarely produce great art but sometimes, sometimes, the pieces all fit, the art just clicks and all the disparate elements fit into place like a puzzle. This was one of those times.  I spent about 10 days from start to finish on the art all while profusely sweating and nervously sketching in my Texas studio. DMB’s long time art director Matt came to me wanting an Autumn theme and suggested a fox as the central subject matter. He referenced my Widespread Panic print with the tree and fox from a few years back as something that felt correct for this one. Fox hunts were common in the Charlottesville area  long ago he said. I kept that in mind while drawing and found a good rhythm and flow in the fox’s face that ended up informing how the rest of the art would feel. Some of that flow started to look like Hokusai’s famous wave paintings and I decided to lean into this more with an ocean backdrop. People are naturally going to think that I had Virginia Beaches on my mind but that’s not the case. The crashing sapphire waves behind our fiery vixen are meant to represent the intensity of the chase foxes faced from those hunts. In my folklore the vixen has found reprieve in the high ground on a mysterious island. She sits triumphant, having outrun her captors, upon the setting sun in the wake of the ocean’s chaos. Swirling leaves and weathered peaks of the Blue Ridge Mountains sit far in the distance.

.

Please allow roughly 2 weeks for shipping. It’s just Kristie and me packing and it sometimes takes us a minute. We always pack them with love for you all. Cheers.

.

NOTES: 18 x 24 inches /// 8 screens /// signed and numbered artist edition of 85 on Stardream Citrine paper and 80 on holo foil swirl paper /// numbered show copies are edition of 1300 on citrine and 200 on swirl foil /// November 11, 2023 at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, VA /// Art is dedicated to Katsushika Hokusai /// after I finished the piece I was reminded of the track “The Wind” from Cat Stevens.