PANDEMIC INSPIRATION

What’s it like to be a visual artist during a pandemic?

Lots of people ask me how I stay motivated to create during this time of “stay in place”.  And while I am more motivated to paint after returning from a trip, these days I find myself getting inspiration from my travel photos.  I have a studio at our house in Greensboro, NC that is quite spacious and allows me the opportunity to work at different stations if I want (i.e., the floor, a drafting table, a long and tall painting table, the walls).

When I first began to be serious about painting, I never listened to music.  I was very focused on my work and didn’t feel right about having that kind of interruption.  Shortly after we moved back to the States, I found listening to different music genres when creating really helped me express myself.  I often pick music I think I would hear in an exotic location and paint to it.

Lately, I’ve been really fascinated with Paul Gauguin and his Tahiti paintings, so you’ll see several works that are inspired by Gauguin.

A fun fact:  I often name my work after song lyrics I like.

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