SPRING: always a season symbolizing hope and rebirth, the arrival of Covid19 vaccines brought new hope in a concrete way, along with the waning of winter and long months of isolation. While for a retired introvert, secure in my home and yard, isolation was less traumatic than for some, I still have noticed the quiet toll on my mental and emotional state. Looking forward to actually seeing some people and getting out and going places is uplifting.
Painting has been a real boon during the long months of the pandemic; the 'Weekly Painting' challenge gives me something to anchor my days and attention with, to pull me away from fear and the abnormal state of things. That, and my unaffected cat have kept me steady and sane. Themes continued to be largely my local stay-at-home-environment (and again, not exactly EVERY week, but close.)
March saw a final melting of the impressive snows of February, and the slow awakening of the earth. But April, not to be outdone by the abnormality of the pandemic, decided to be unusual as well, with 2 snowfalls: one as an April Fools morning prank, the other later in the month with 2" of snow bending the new growth but miraculously not harming any new leaves or blooms.
This update includes not only the weekly painting challenge results, but also one large commission piece, that somewhat displaced the rhythm of weekly paintings, as well as a smaller landscape created for an upcoming local group exhibition. Also, in an attempt to recapture some of the more spontaneous gestures of my stick & ink drawings, several of these include 'painting with sticks' (drawing with a bamboo stick and thinned dark paint) and as part of the under-painting. (#33 and #37)
Painting has been a real boon during the long months of the pandemic; the 'Weekly Painting' challenge gives me something to anchor my days and attention with, to pull me away from fear and the abnormal state of things. That, and my unaffected cat have kept me steady and sane. Themes continued to be largely my local stay-at-home-environment (and again, not exactly EVERY week, but close.)
March saw a final melting of the impressive snows of February, and the slow awakening of the earth. But April, not to be outdone by the abnormality of the pandemic, decided to be unusual as well, with 2 snowfalls: one as an April Fools morning prank, the other later in the month with 2" of snow bending the new growth but miraculously not harming any new leaves or blooms.
This update includes not only the weekly painting challenge results, but also one large commission piece, that somewhat displaced the rhythm of weekly paintings, as well as a smaller landscape created for an upcoming local group exhibition. Also, in an attempt to recapture some of the more spontaneous gestures of my stick & ink drawings, several of these include 'painting with sticks' (drawing with a bamboo stick and thinned dark paint) and as part of the under-painting. (#33 and #37)
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