Paul Flippen

@flipworks.bsky.social

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Dad, Husband, Painter

Cover of a graphic novel depicting a crosshatched black and white drawing of a teenaged boy with abstract curves in the background. The title reads JAKE a graphic novel by paul flippen.
Black ink crosshatch drawing of Fort Logan National Cemetery, with one tombstone drawn in higher contrast, on a blue-grey ground of sanded acrylic paint.
Black ink crosshatched drawing of the three shell casings presented to my mother along with the flag at my father's veteran's funeral service on a blue-grey background of sanded acrylic paint.
Black ink crosshatched drawing of ripples in a liquid spreading out and settling into stillness, over a blue-grey background of sanded acrylic paint.
Black crosshatched drawings of my grandfather's antique tools (a ball peen hammer, a screwdriver with a wooden handle, a pair of pliers, and a pipe wrench) that I inherited from my father, on a blue-grey background of sanded acrylic paint.
Black crosshatched drawing of an antique wristwatch with the time set to 9:13, over a blue-grey background of sanded acrylic paint.
Black crosshatched drawing of one of my father's gold toe dress socks and the black boxes of a crossword grid, over a background of blue-grey sanded acrylic paint.
Black crosshatched drawing of half of an hour glass with a large wing, forming the Tempus Fugit symbol - time flies/life is brief - with graphical lines descending, all resting on a background of blue-grey sanded acrylic paint.
Black crosshatched drawing of the balance and hourglass from Durer's Melancholia print superimposed over a series of medical monitoring graphs descending to flatline, all on a blue-grey background of sanded acrylic paint.
Black crosshatch ink drawing of a US Army Jeep hovering above an extreme close up of a liquid droplet from an IV causing ripples in the fluid, with a line abstracting the tubes and monitors from my father's hospital stay running vertically along the left of the composition, all superimposed on a blue-grey background of sanded acrylic paint.
Black ink drawing of a tomato plant, an image of a hare from a Durer woodcut, and a cloth tape like the kind used to restrain my father's hands to his hospital bed railing, all layered over a blue-grey background of sanded acrylic paint.
Black ink drawing of a car seat with seatbelt diagrams and parking lot lines superimposed over a blue-grey sanded acrylic paint.
Black ink line drawings of a 737 airplane like the one my brother flew out in, my mother's Subaru, and my own Ford station wagon, layered over a crosshatched landscape of the Rocky Mountains, all resting on a blue-grey background of sanded acrylic paint.
Black ink drawing of a stack of files, my mother's journal, and a Medicare & You handbook with numerous notation flags sticking out, all superimposed by brackets, underlining, checkmarks, and various annotations my mother obsessively added to every document she received from the hospital. The background is a blue-grey field of sanded acrylic paint.
Black crosshatched ink drawing of an IV hanger with one pouch and one bottle hanging down with tubes leading off the bottom edge of the drawing. Along the right hand side of the page, a measuring scale descends. All of the imagery is superimposed above a blue-grey field of layered and sanded acrylic paint.
Black line drawing of a fluorescent light bulb and my Dad's complete set of pots and pans, layered over a blue-grey field of sanded acrylic paint.
Black ink wash drawing of blades of grass, most cut to a level, but a few eager blades extend past the cutting, on a blue-grey background of layered and eroded acrylic paint.
A crosshatched drawing of a close up a liquid drop from an IV, along with a black line drawing of a hospital recliner bracketed by a line abstraction of the a hospital hallway, all superimposed over a blue-grey background of layered and sanded acrylic paint.
Black line drawing of balance scales adapted from Durer's print of Death, layered over black line drawing of a graph of the survival rates of leukemia patients, both superimposed over a blue-grey background of eroded acrylic paint.
Black line drawing of a tracheotomy air flow collar superimposed over a medical cutaway diagram of lungs above a heart rate monitor reading scrolling across the bottom edge of the page - all of the black linework is on top of a blue-grey background of sanded acrylic paint.
A black ink drawing of a stethoscope floating above a line drawing of a classic white doctor's lab coat, with four more coats arranged like paper dolls in a register along the bottom of the composition, all superimposed above a blue-grey background of sanded acrylic paint.
Black line drawing of a human brain in profile with some hatching, above flowing lines from medical monitors, and paired with ornate clock arms from my parents' antique clock, the angle of the arms indicating the date my father went into the hospital, all resting on a blue-grey background of eroded acrylic paint.
A black line drawing of my mother's heirloom punchbowl resting on a mirrored rococo display base, framed by a meandering line articulating the nurses' station in the hospital, all superimposed on a blue-grey background of eroded acrylic paint.
A series of black line drawings, in the style of patent images, depicting various drill bits used in burr hole surgery on the brain, connected by a confusion of gracefully curving lines that tangle and intersect, all floating above a blue-grey field of eroded acrylic paint.
Black line drawing, with light hatching, of a human brain seen from above with the location of a surgical intervention highlighted by a circle, lines emanating from that point lead off the page, all superimposed over a blue-grey field of eroded acrylic paint.
A black line drawing of a payphone receiver, mirrored by abstract linework of soundwaves and spoken text becoming more agitated, superimposed over an eroded field of blue-grey acrylic paint.
A black line drawing of a pay phone receiver, mirrored by an abstraction of sound waves and text spilling out of a phone, all suspended over a blue-grey background of eroded acrylic paint.
Black line drawing of a transfusion IV bag superimposed over line drawings of platelets and blood cells on a blue-grey background of eroded acrylic paint.
Black line drawing of pill bottles, superimposed on a prescription template, floating on a muted blue-grey field of sanded acrylic paint.
Black line drawing of an old fashioned reclining easy chair, resting on a television schedule listing positioned to resemble wood flooring, floating on a blue grey background of sanded acrylic paint.
Black ink drawing of paper money placed under salt and pepper shakers next to a container of sugar packets at a diner, superimposed on an old fashioned restaurant Guest Check order slip, rendered above a blue grey background of sanded acrylic paint layers.
A phone receiver, suitcase, and teddy bear leading to a map representing a drive from Fort Collins, Colorado to Austin, Texas in a register above a side view drawing of a Scion XB as black linework over blue grey layers of paint.
Black ink drawing of an old fashioned alarm clock layered over graphite lines from a heart monitor, floating on top of blue grey fields of acrylic washes.
A view from the driver's seat of a Ford station wagon with a map of Texas state highways superimposed over the windshield, the route from San Angelo to Austin in a bolder line. Black ink on layers of blue grey eroded paint.
A Staff Sergeant insignia overlaid with lines denoting deployments to military posts in Germany and the United States drawn in black ink over a blue grey field of eroded paint.
A black line drawing of a landline telephone receiver, mirrored by abstract linework derived from combining text and soundwaves into decorative motifs, all floating on an atmospheric background of eroded layers of blue-grey paint.
A page of a graphic novel with a text block in the upper left, a diagram of a garage door and a mapped route with stops for tae kwan do and lego robotics in the upper right, and centered in the lower two thirds of the page a close up of a coffee pot. Text reads: "I hear the muted rumble of the garage door, then the sound of Janie driving off. OK, take a deep breath, ACKNOWLEDGE THE STILLNESS. Coffee gurgles to a crescendo. So much for stillness, time for caffeine."
A page of a graphic novel with a text block in the upper left, a diagram of a garage door and a mapped route with stops for tae kwan do and lego robotics in the upper right, and centered in the lower two thirds of the page a close up of a coffee pot. Text reads: "I hear the muted rumble of the garage door, then the sound of Janie driving off. OK, take a deep breath, ACKNOWLEDGE THE STILLNESS. Coffee gurgles to a crescendo. So much for stillness, time for caffeine."
Cover of book with the following blurb: "Keyword/Keyimages celebrates our differences and our shared humanity, providing new perspectives through which we can reflect on and, ultimately, reshape the structures that define health and healing." - Juliet McMullin author of The Healthy Ancestor
22 What Optimism Looks Like - black line drawings of two IV drips hanging from a pole, with a graduated scale moving down the right side, all resting in a field of softly eroded blue-greys. Ink and acrylic on paper, 7x7 inches.
08 Phalanx - black line drawing of pill bottles superimposed with a prescription template, all resting on a surface of layered and eroded acrylic paint in muted blue-grey. Ink and acrylic on paper, 7x7 inches.
Cover of Keywords/Keyimages in Graphic Medicine - a black book with the title in red and white, featuring a cartoon image of a person connected to iconographical images of their medical history.
Cover of Keywords/Keyimages in Graphic Medicine - a black book with the title in red, featuring a cartoon drawing of a young person connected to iconographical images related to their medical history.
A painting of a small rubber ducky riding an ocean of abstracted waves, with a bright yellow sun leading to a hopeful future.
A painted image of a rubber ducky riding abstracted waves against a night sky.
Youtube screenshot of David Mazzucchelli demonstrating the expressive possibilities of visual word balloons during a lecture.