Spider and the Fly, 2025, takes inspiration from Mary Howitt’s classic poem, “The Spider and the Fly”. An all-time favorite children’s book of mine, I was always drawn to the beautiful, yet eerie illustrations, done by Tony DiTerlizzi. A tale of seduction and manipulation, I wanted to take my own spin on the story. I have always been interested in the reversal of gender roles in art and literature, as well as exploring femme fatale characters. The blonde-bobbed spider plays the seductress, inviting in her next potential meal. The male fly, clearly out of his depth, makes a half-hearted excuse to escape—though it’s likely too late. Humor, or at least a kind of playful absurdity, always finds its way into my cartoons. Why wouldn’t the female spider be wearing six knee-high boots? And why wouldn’t she have a mini counterpart? While drawing preliminary sketches for Spider and the Fly, I was looking through a book of early Tim Burton drawings. I really wanted to emulate his use of exaggerated shadows, dense cross-hatching, and creating a space that feels terrifying, yet somewhat playful. In Spider and the Fly, the dark cross-hatching in the upper-left corner helps direct attention toward the spider, whose looming shadow reinforces her dominance. One of my favorite parts of making this piece was adding the smaller, atmospheric touches—like cobwebbed candles and a web-wrapped wine bottle—to me, that further establishes the space I am creating.
Dimensions: 9 in. x 12 in. / Medium: ink and marker on paper
