Four Years After the Pandemic Paintings

About four years ago I returned from a trip to the grocery store to find that not only were we working from home for the next two weeks, but just about everything was being shut down to the public to "stop the spread" so to speak. We all know how that went. 

Looking back this March of 2024, I am fairly comfortable saying that Covid is in our rearview mirror for the most part, but the effects linger. Some may be in the form of closed businesses, lost jobs, or diminished friendships, while others may be as serious as lingering health effects or the loss of friends and family entirely. We all lived through a very strange few years and each of us dealt with that situation and its effects in our own way, largely alone, but all at the same time.

The Pandemic Paintings started as a one-off titled "Me and the Mountain" with no intentions of a following series. I wanted to make something mostly black and white, feature a figure, and, coincidentally, that represented strength in self in the face of unknown adversity, represented by the mountain in this case. There was clearly something in the water even before lockdowns were enacted. 

The series continued with the occasional break to work on smaller paintings and drawings, but I largely kept up the pace over the second year. The sense of exploration was replaced with a veil of despair, with each painting taking on a bit more of heavy tone. Themes of isolation continued, but instead of life, breathability and bright colors carrying overtones of hope, the scenes were blanketed with melancholy, claustrophobia, and stillness that I don't think had ever really entered my paintings before. 

The figures felt new as well. In the first half they seemed to be concerned with the scene itself; reacting to their environment, gazing deeply into the landscape or even interacting with other figures. In the second half they seemed to be confronting the viewer, momentarily detached from the setting; eyes stare back as if the viewer has intruded.

Check out the full series on the website HERE and contact me to purchase anything from the series. 

I would be lying if I said I set out to make a pandemic series, but I did have the inkling that I should "document" the pandemic lockdowns through art. I didn't want to make literal representations of what was happening but I felt like it was important to continue creating even if the majority of the work had no where to go and no viewers to expect. I didn't want to change my habits or approach, but I knew something unique was occurring.

Once the lockdowns hit that first painting took on a new meaning and the idea for a longer series began to form. Originally I thought maybe 5 paintings during the month of lockdown (surely it wouldn't go beyond that); then maybe 10 as one month became two; by the time the first year of the pandemic was coming to a close I was ready to end the series at 50, even producing what I thought would be the final addition. Once again, the best laid plans...

While I defintely took a short break once the first anniversary came and went, it didn't take long to turn that frustration back into energy. The second half introduced some different trends pretty quickly that reinvigorated my passion for the series despite however I was feeling about the Pandemic and ongoing lockdowns.

While my process remained the same, darker colors crept in and the setting shifted to a mostly interior world. Bright, vast landscapes gave way to darkened rooms mirroring the growing claustrophobia of the times.

Thankfully the years of lockdowns already feel like a lifetime ago and, though created as a direct result, I think I accomplished my goal of reacting to an unprecedented situation without creating art that only speaks to one event, one experience, or only to people who lived through the covid pandemic. I believe the series contains some of my best paintings and I still get an overwhelming sense of pride from looking through the collection. I have favorites from both halves and enjoy most all of the paintings for their own reasons. Not to toot my own horn, but I have long felt that, overall, it's one of my most consistently high-quality periods of art-making.

Further, a half-year after the pandemic I was awarded a show at the new MARN Gallery in downtown Milwaukee, my largest and most ambitious solo show to date. Me and the Mountain went off without a hitch, bringing in hundreds of viewers over its run along with almost universal praise for the work and installation. In 2025 the second showing of the Pandemic Paintings will take place at the Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts with many more details to come as that draws nearer. 

I'd never say that the pandemic was a good thing...and I also wouldn't say I enjoyed my time cooped up in a 2 bedroom apartment for 2+ years even with all the painting that occurred...but I can look back on the time period with affection for the creative energy, focus, dedication and resulting artwork it caused. Looking back after four years is like looking back on a bit of a bad dream, but even something horrific can breed beauty. Thankfully the Pandemic Paintings, at least to me, are a source of light that continues to nurture recovery from what, at the time, seemed to be a place from which we might not return. 

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