20 Seconds

20 Seconds
16x20 oil on panel

Coronavirus series

As the pandemic jumped from continent to continent governments around the world told their citizens to wash their hands frequently for at least 20 seconds. Those of us in the west were told that was equivalent to singing the Happy Birthday song twice. We saw videos of how to clean between the fingers, wash the thumb and up and around the wrists. Videos showed police in India washing their hands while doing a dance routine to a Bollywood soundtrack and we saw photos of chaffed red hands suffering from constant scrubbing.

The fact that simple soap and water is our best preventative measure is wondrous in its simplicity and at the same time it's deeply troubling that it is all we have.

Coronavirus Series, Masked

Hello again!

I haven't shared any of my work for over a year. I've been painting a lot, but the series was about an emotional earthquake in my life, and I considered my paintings to be more therapy than anything else. I focused on recording my feelings in a visual way which took me in a different direction with my painting. The pieces were raw and so was I, so I kept them to myself sharing only with a handful of  brave friends.

Who knew that I was training for recording the images of a world wide pandemic? I have in the past month begun a series of the startling and quickly changing images that the coronavirus has brought.

Masked

16x20, oil on panel

This is the first in my Coronavirus series. I saw this man in a busy urban setting and was rocked that someone in a city in our county felt the need to wear a mask. By the time I was half way through the piece the person that stood out on a street was the one NOT wearing a mask. My head spun. 

The images have been coming so fast that I can't keep up. I planned to do an elbow bump painting, but within a week we weren't getting within six feet of one another and we were pulling on gloves to pick up things that others had possibly touched. 

My files are full of ideas and I'm painting virtually all the time. There are currently 3 finished pieces and 3 under way. I will share once a week or so. 

Thanks for checking back in with me. Let's all be helpful, kind and careful with one another. It's hard to understand what others are going through, now more than ever.