Unpinning the butterfly

Kyle Corley [Supplied]

“The Only Way Out is Through”
Acrylic on Wood – 18” x 22”

A need for freedom and a love of experimentation led Kyle Corley down the road less traveled of a professional artist and musician. 

Before arriving at his happy place—where he paints pop art-inspired illustrations on wood and plays bass for the local duo Glizzy Gillespie—Corley endured some dark detours. The COVID-19 lockdown hit, and the pivotal, high-pressure years of his late 20s bore down on him. Reeling from the end of a marriage, he fell into a deep state of depression. 

Fortunately, the seeds of Corley’s fruitful art career began to germinate around that time. 

“I was studying earth and space science education,” explained the 29-year-old painter. “I was also substituting at Vanguard High School and got a long-term substitution position in the library. With that, I got a little bit of control over the bulletin board.” 

The crafty task presented Corley the opportunity to re-ignite his creative spark. He had grown up building things and painting on wood with his dad and brothers. He also played music in high school. Both passions, however, had gone by the wayside. 

“For years, since childhood, I tried to paint anything or draw anything,’’ he said. “So, I went for it.” 

As fate would have it, one of Corley’s friends from a book club told him about the 2019 Student & Emerging Artist Competition, an annual event presented by the City of Ocala. 

“I gave it a shot, and, when I did, I won first place in my division,” Corley said of his award in the adult 25-30 division. “It was a bit of a surprise because I grew up in a very different Ocala from the Ocala that exists right now.” 

Continuing a tradition that started in childhood, Corley still paints on wood. 

“I’ve done woodworking and carpentry and all those kinds of things,” he said. “Wood was always around and typically cheaper than canvas. For me, it was more straightforward than canvas.” 

As one-half of the experimental folk-punk duo Glizzy Gillespie, Corley now makes a living selling his art as well as playing his viola-style bass with guitarist/banjo-picker/singer Taylor Schoenborn, performing solo shows, singing and playing acoustic guitar, and selling the merch he’s created for both ventures. 

Profits from both vary month to month. Sometimes the art pulls in more; sometimes the band merch does. 

“Big Blue”
Acrylic on Wood – 32” x 48”

Formed just around a year ago, the Glizzy Gillespie duo are in the middle of recording an album due out this spring, and, along with a Bandcamp page, they have an EP on Spotify, Metchup and Kustard. 

A sense of fun, humor and adventure fill Corley’s art and music. Along with his band’s humorous nod to a jazz great, his Instagram handle, Professor Dumbledoobie, spoofs the Harry Potter franchise. 

Jokes aside, Corley avoids veering straight into novelty. The enlightenment he gained while recovering from depression also pervades his work in both projects. 

“The Unbridled Mind”
Acrylic on Paper – 9” x 12”

“I got into meditation and started studying Zen Buddhism,” he said. “Most of my stuff, I feel is just kind of pulled through the air. It feels less like I’m painting and I’m more of a radio just getting a frequency and it’s just kind of coming through.” 

He won third place in the adult 25-30 division of the 2020 Student & Emerging Artist Exhibition with “P. Cyanescens,” a psilocybin-inspired piece borne from the “positive momentum” Corley gained while researching new treatments for depression. He’s also a resident artist with the Vanguard Magnolia Arts Xchange. 

Defining his art and music, Corley said, is one of the most difficult aspects of getting by as an artist and musician. He strives to evoke feeling without necessarily telling you what to feel. 

“As soon as I tell somebody what my art’s about, it almost feels like I’m pinning the butterfly—like I have to kill this thing and put it in a box. It’s always tough answering, ‘Oh, what is this?’ So, I try to leave it very open-ended to the viewer because whatever they feel with this painting is real, and I want them to delve a little bit deeper into that.” 

To view Kyle Corley’s art, visit instagram.com/professordumbledoobie. To listen to Glizzy Gillespie, visit glizzygillespie.bandcamp.com.