Ben handles a Fly Brush along a wintry riverbank

BEN MILLER PAINTS WITH A FLY ROD - NOT A PAINTBRUSH.

On the end of the rod, Miller attaches what he calls Fly Brushes, designed from wool, cotton, rubber, nylon and other materials, soaked in paint and cast onto clear plexiglass. 

A typical 36 x 48-inch painting consists of more than 2,000 individual casts, completed in a single six-hour session. Once the casting is finished and the paint has dried, the plexiglass is turned around and the image emerges—entirely different from what was painted on the reverse.

His 36 x 48-inch paintings are done along the banks of the river. For larger works, Miller documents the river through photo and video studies and then renders the painting over multiple days in his converted gymnasium studio in Whitehall, Montana. He also produces multi-paneled works assembled from two, three, or more panels, forming diptychs, triptychs, and more.

Miller has begun painting on thicker panels of plexiglass. Recent works have measured 48 x 96 inches and 72 x 96 inches, each one inch thick and weighing between 200 and 300 pounds. These works function not only as paintings, but as sculptural objects capable of standing indoors or outdoors.

 Fly Brush