Another Day

Sometimes pandemic days feel like time without markers, just continuous targetless time. 

I wanted to capture my current feeling that nothing is happening, and that this is both a positive and a negative sentiment. I didn’t set out with such a clear articulation in mind, but I think the result reflects this duality of a stillness that lacks nothing, yet also a sense of wistful aloneness that is 2020 quarantine life for me. (Ah, art.)

Talking through key elements, I was really loving the aesthetic of a sunset rainbow gradient when I started this painting in mid-October. The technique for a perfect gradient is still a mystery to me, but it was cathartic to just sweep the brush back and forth for a couple hours.

The cliff is lightly inspired by McAfee Knob (March 2018). Expansive views are healing for the soul and that is one of the things that we have been missing, due to quarantine. 

Lastly, the angle of how the girl sat was very important. I didn’t want her too crouched over – too inward and depressed. Nor too leaned back – too open and free. Something in the middle is just right – relaxed, pensive and a little self-protective. I’m not sure I got it exactly right but it’s close, and … I love how the purple sweater turned out.

"Another Day"

Arts and Crafts

Not too many paintings were created in Q4 2020. I have temporarily moved on to several new hobbies.

However, I painted a couple basic panels for decorative purposes. 

This purple one is a polaroid photo frame for my sister's birthday.

The green one was supposed to fill a gap in my Zoom backdrop, but it wouldn’t stay on the wall (read: I didn’t make an effort to find strong tape…). Now, it lives on a shelf with my other 5x7 panels. The hand lettering creates a nice effect, though it takes more steps than I imagined between drafting with a brush pen, tracing, and laying down paint with a Posca pen.

I feel satisfied that I've acquired the basic competency to put together these functional projects easily. 

Having stepped away from making art daily, I’m surprised by how many art supplies I bought and how much I painted within a short amount of time this year. I like learning new things in an immersive way – focus is the key to doing anything quickly and well. However looking back at these phases always gives me the feeling that I was in a quasi-fugue state (but a good one).