Pandemic Painting Deep Dive: Sharing Lunch

Sharing lunch was, I think, #3 in the series, but immediately became one of my favorite paintings I've ever done. I would never call myself a minimalist; I'm far to scattered and fidgety for that; but my attraction to this painting lies in its simplicity and intrigue despite a lack of overt messaging or chaotic symbolism.

I envy minimalists as, while I like minimal art, it feels lazy, to me, in the moment. I may "like" something minimal but it's not what organically comes from my studio sessions. My minimal art is pleasant, but I often want more than that. Sharing Lunch is an example of one of my favorite kinds of my own painting; I am struck but the color compositions and interaction (or lack there of) of the figures, yet the painting is largely devoid of specific details; An energy exists, but it's as much tension as action; there's a overall sense of melancholly and serenity, but one that could be broken at any moment now that you, the viewer, has arrived on scene.

Inspired by "The Dance" and "Music" by Henri Matisse in that I wanted to create a simple green landscape with bold, red figures,  but I wanted to juxtapose the joyfulness with the current lack of social interaction. It also felt apt to depict an age-old subject matter, the meal, through the momentary lens of social distancing.

In all I wanted to capture the strange melancholy feeling of the moment; the unsure nature of what was coming, what we would be called to do, and what would damage our already potentially fragile social bonds.

A feeling of despair seemed to fall like a gentle mist, and, though we were not yet assured of its arrival, everyone felt a wave of dread pass between their optimism and the coming days. 

Sharing Lunch is available for purchase. Contact me directly at [email protected] for information. Get more insight into the Pandemic Paintings by clicking the "Pandemic Paintings" drop-down from the "Paintings" tab at the top of the page.