It is strange making art during this time of distance and isolation. I’m so aware of all the moments that make up a day. There are constant tensions. These tensions are so big and yet I can’t put my finger on them. They surround me yet they’re not here in my sanctuary. As I continue to self quarantine I find small joys in the simple things. Listening to the birds sing, walking with my dogs, feeling the temperature rise as Summer arrives, are just a few of my daily delights.
So how has this impacted my work as an artist? My attention has been drawn back to where I grew up. I grew up in a small town on Cape Cod. Although I haven’t lived there in decades I still have family there and it always feels like I’m coming home when I visit. I grew up in the 60’s & 70’s. The Cape was quite back then (except for the Summer months). There was’t a lot to do so I turned my attention to the beach and the bogs. When I was in 8th grade I made a silent commitment to myself to walk the beach every day after school. I had a big, thick, sweater I would wrap myself up in and down to the beach I would go. It was empowering and I felt that beach was mine! All the time it was quiet as I talked to myself and communed with the ocean.
During this time with Covid part of me has gone back to that place. The kids are grown so it’s just my husband and I (and our two dogs) at home. I spend a lot of time alone but I’m not lonely. I’ve been collecting photos of places on the Cape that transcend me back to those quiet times where I lost myself in nature. I’m thirsty for more and more of these images and I dutifully paint them one after the other. There are no people in these paintings. Just places, light and color.
White House, acrylic, 11x14”