Hunkering Down

My last post ended with a message of hope. Of course, since I believe that hope could not exist without desparation or fear, I may have focused a bit more on images that visually were devoid of hope altogether.

As a result, and in accordance with the promotion of working at home as a way of life, I wish to inspire people with some paintings I have now had the time to finish.

The message, of course, is for people to use this time to explore some of the things that make us human. If you're artistic, grab a brush and make something. If you're a musician, write a song. If you don't know what to do, read a book. If you want to pass the time, look at a tree, or the sky.

In other words, look for hope.


Here's what Long Island beaches and parks should look like all the time!

Desparation

 The world is facing a crisis. What can "average" citizens do? We're scared. We're angry. We are overwhelmed.

So how can we survive? The reality is, many of us won't. That is a devastating acknowledgement of the terror we are facing. But we are individuals and we all have an inherent need to persevere.

Personally, I'm petrified. I'm in my 50's. I'm a type 1 diabetic. I'm at the top tier of high-risk individuals.

But I'm also an artist. Artists believe in a greater good. They strive to illustrate abstract thoughts and emotions. They need to.

An artist's work is very much a diary of their life and a record of their observations. I thought of this during this current crisis. I've had some time at home so I went through some older work I had done. A few of them seemed appropriate to the current situation we're in.

For a long time I made art based on suffering. My mother spent many years in and out of hospitals, and it was so confusing that such a beautiful, caring, and gentle woman suffered so much. I'm sure she was on my mind when I did this picture.

I found another one and I can't recall what I was thinking, but with the current focus on hands it seemed like it had some reverence.

The last one was in the same pile of old drawings and it struck me as a divine message. I had done a close up of Christ's crucifixion to show the agony of that occurrence. Now I am no poster boy for religion, but I do believe in God and I think that having faith is about the only thing people can turn to during this crisis. So I pray for my children, the people I know and love, and I pray for the human race. Most of all, I pray for salvation.