Æthelflæd of Mercia. Easing back into drawing after a much needed break, as I begin plans on some upcoming paintings. Still ploughing through the Saxon Chronicles (aka Last Kingdom in TV terminology), currently on book 7. Æthelflæd succeeded her husband Æthelred as ruler of the Mercians. The brief rule of her daughter Ælfwynn marked the only instance in English history of rule passing from one woman to another. The main thing to take away from this is that Anglo-Saxon names are very difficult to tell apart.
Awaiting the storm. That’s my mood today… just waiting for that next storm to roll in, both literal and metaphorical. The next one that passes I’m taking bar of soap outside and using it as a shower. Both literal and metaphorical 😎
The Atlantean Sword. Inspired by a scene from the 1982 Conan the Barbarian, which was in turn inspired by the short story Thing In the Crypt by L. Asparagus de Camp. Took me a while to finish this due to a busy week of activity. Think I might turn this into a future poster design!
Some highlights from a very memorable trip to Chicago Art Institute @artinstitutechi after a very memorable weekend!
1. Paris Street Rainy Day by Caillebotte
2. The Bathers by Bougereau
3. Shadow of Death by Holman Hunt
4. Beata Beatrix by Rossetti
5. Duel after the masquerade by Jean-Leon Gerome
6. American Gothic by Grant Wood
7. The Dugout by Norman Rockwell
8. Nighthawks by Hopper
9. Child’s Bath by Mary Cassatt
10. Herring Net by Winslow Homer
11. The painting from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off by that one guy
12. Mrs. George Swinton by Sargent
13. Buddha
14. Imaginary prisons by Piranesi
15. Allegory of Winter by Houdon
16. Picture of Dorian Gray by Albright
17. The Rock by Peter Blume
18. Bean there done that!
If you missed us @central.machine.works and @coldwavesfestival last week you can still snag one of these red silkscreen posters on my website! I’ll throw the link up in the bio as well.
Shirts sold out but maybe we make more?
Seems like the appropriate day to repost my Boba Fett painting (2023) for May the Fourth. This piece is still unsold so I’ll do a special May 4th sale on it on the store (conradkeely.com). Acrylic on canvas panel, I was definitely watching Mandalorian at the time!
SOLD!!
#maythefourth #bobafett
...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead
@realtrailofdead
Live at Central Machine Works
@central.machine.works
📷 Shot on a Lumix GH5
#austinmusic #rock
Finally posting these photos from @realtrailofdead ’s set at the Metro in Sydney as part of @birdsrobe ’s 15th Anniversary show back on 14/12/25. Post 1/2.
🗺️
Trail of Dead have been one of my favourite bands for over 25 years. I’ve seen them 5 or so times, adore every record they’ve put out and even have a whole wall of framed prints of @conradkeely ’s art. When the band seemed to break up in 2023, right after releasing Bleed Here Now, which I think is one of their best albums, I figured that was it for Trail of Dead, and even if they got back together it’d be unlikely they’d ever make it back out here again. So colour me surprised ‘n stoked when the band was announced for these Bird’s Robe shows and the breakup seemed retconned out of existence.
🗺️
Trail of Dead tore through almost all of 2005’s Worlds Apart and added a few tracks from Source Tags & Codes. All absolute classics. The new lineup sounded immense and reminded me of the expanded line up the band had back in the day, which I preferred to the more stripped down four piece format. Since it had been over 10 years since Trail of Dead played in Australia, I was hoping for a more career-spanning set, but what we got absolutely ruled and I was kicking myself for not going to Melbourne to see their other shows. Talking to the dudes after their set, it seems maybe we haven’t heard the last of … And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, which makes me very happy.
🗺️
One of the things you dread as a concert photographer is shooting one of your all-time favourite artists and the lights just suck for photography (to put it mildly), which is why it took me so long to get round to finish editing these. I’ve got a second post coming with some black ’n white edits which I think I may prefer… Stay tuned.
🗺️ Setlist:
Ode to Isis
Will You Smile Again?
Worlds Apart
The Summer of ‘91
The Rest Will Follow
Caterwaul
A Classic Arts Showcase
Let It Dive
All White
The Best
The Lost City of Refuge
All St. Day
It Was There That I Saw You
Days of Being Wild
Another Morning Stoner
🗺️
#trailofdead #andyouwillknowusbythetrailofdead #gigphotography #artrock #livemusicphotography
Work in progress… got a crazy weekend ahead so won’t get a chance to finish this until next week. Band rehearsals tonight, playing at @central.machine.works tomorrow, flying to the Windy City on Friday for the @spaceechofest on Saturday then showing some art at @jackalopecoffee on Sunday. So this one will have to wait a while…
