*Lesser Long-Nosed Bat with Pipe Organ Cactus* (in progress)

Animalia

Animalia is a mix of personal narratives, experiences, and collaborations. This inlaid cut paper work shares thematic overlap with my earlier narrative paintings, and the series helped me transition from painting to the paper works I do today. Starting in 2000, the Animalia pieces were made alongside narrative paintings, though less frequently. Earlier works, such as My Dad and Two Pancakes, combined cut paper with painting beyond tinting. Read more »

All works are inlaid cut paper. The archival cut papers are usually tinted with acrylic and/or flashe vinyl to expand the stock papers’ limited palette. The paper pieces are scalpel cut, inlaid (forming one layer) and adhered using reversible PVA glue. An isolation coat is applied before the final protective matte UV varnish.

Selected Works

*Portrait of My Dad Mowing the Lawn*2015inlaid cut paper on panel58 x 64 in.available

*Midlife Self Portrait*2025-26inlaid cut paper on panel73 x 48 in.available

*Ronnie and Piper Reading Magazine*2022inlaid cut paper on panel40 x 40 in.available

Mint Museum exhibition — *Mid: Selected Works from 2000-2026*, The Mint Museum,
Charlotte NC, 2026

North Carolina Arts Council Fellowship Exhibition — *North Carolina Arts Council Fellowship Group Exhibition*, Turchin Center for the Visual Arts, Appalachian State University, 2012

*Man Carrying Fuel Container*2012inlaid cut paper on panel90 x 40 in.available

*Cut From the Same Cloth (Emma)*2017inlaid cut paper on panel40 x 30 in.sold

*Cut From the Same Cloth (Viking)*2017inlaid cut paper on panel40 x 30 in.sold

*Chuck & Peggy*2013inlaid cut paper on panel38 x 55 in.sold

*Woman in Lingerie (with Studio Pia)*2020inlaid cut paper on panel46 x 36 in.available

*Lips II*2017inlaid cut paper on panel9 x 12 in.sold

*Northern Flicker*2017inlaid cut paper on panel24 x 24 in.sold

*Baby Deer*2015inlaid cut paper and flashe vinyl on panel10 x 10 in.sold

*Woman in Lingerie with Azaleas*2019inlaid cut paper on panel40 x 30 in.sold

*Luna Moth on My Studio Window*2016inlaid cut paper on panel10 x 10 in.sold

*Lesser Long-Nosed Bat with Pipe Organ Cactus (with Merlin Tuttle)*2020inlaid cut paper on panel40 x 32 in.sold

*Cubby*2009inlaid cut paper on mat board48 x 31 in.available

woman under plastic — *Woman Under Plastic*2014inlaid cut paper on mat board26 x 36 in.available

The decision to work exclusively in paper is a love leap: it inexplicably brings out the best in me and leaves me excited about future possibilities—with the awareness it could one day die or leave me for another artist.

Kirk Fanelly

*Tameta Reading Regional Anesthesia Journal*2009inlaid cut paper on panel30 x 25 in.available

*My Dad with Two Pancakes*2000inlaid cut paper, acrylic on panel19.5 x 11.5 in.artist's collection

Portraits

I approach portraits as collaborations rather than commissions. The creative process is essentially the same as in the rest of my work—the difference is that someone else determines the subject. Curiously, the people and cats in my portraits are usually in motion, while the dogs are still. Individual characteristics and our experience together shape each portrait. I'm not currently taking on small portraits, but I'm open to considering a large-scale family portrait, depending on the parameters.

*Jasper*2017inlaid cut paper on panel18 x 14 in.

*Bogue*2019inlaid cut paper on panel20 x 16 in.

*Jackson*2020inlaid cut paper on panel22 x 16 in.

Trudy — *Trudi*2018inlaid cut paper on panel20 x 16 in.