For me it began in early March 2020 when I flew to Southern CA where I joined my 3 sisters in order to visit with my 89-year-old mother who our family, including our brother not able to join us, had recently moved into a memory care facility. After a week with mom I flew home to Virginia.
And then came COVID. And then my mother took a turn for the worse and was admitted into an Intensive Care Unit where doctors, nurses, and one of my sisters and brother donned what looked like HAZMAT gear in order to be with my mother while the rest of the family sat vigil with her via Zoom Meeting. We held a memorial service for her via Zoom Meeting.
And then time seemed to stand still while I took in the reality of COVID and how it was impacting people worldwide. I hunkered down with my spouse, remained in place and waited. What to do with the sadness, frustration, anger, separation from loved ones (the hardest part for me as I have three adult children and eight grandchildren)? As a retired psychologist I know how important it is to do something with all these emotions and so, as an artist, I decided to paint it out!
COVID ENGULFS THE WORLD Acyrlic/Mixed-media on Canvas
To me the ability to express what is bottled up inside is a super power. One must be very brave to even start these paintings! I love your use of vibrant colors and the movement in your paintings. We seem bound by the limits of this pandemic but in reality we are finally untethered! Congratulations on your new website!
Thank you, Shari! It’s so interesting for me to hear how others interpret my artwork. I painted this one with musical time in mind. Either way, letting the bottle pop open is often the most difficult and the most rewarding at the same time. Congrats on your new website as well!