During the Coronavirus

DURING THE CORONAVIRUS: Excerpts from my Journal, Part 8.                                        

I stopped going to the bridge sometime in the last half of 2019 and began to compose large images based on the observational sketches completed on location. When we went into the first lockdown for Covid19 on March 17, 2020, I began an imaginative painting of the harbor. It was to be more emotional, less technical, based on memories and feelings. It would be a night image in order to change the color palette.

William and I drove out to the harbor one evening after dark, so I could refresh my color memory. It was raining (unusual) and foggy (typical). Light was confined largely to the halos surrounding the lamps. But for the first time in my experience of the harbor, it was absolutely still. Everything had shut down: ships were dark, cranes were still, trucks were absent. There was only one container ship with lights on. A strange atmosphere, indeed.

I’ve named the painting Memories, Dreams, and Reflections with a tongue-in-cheek nod to Jung’s book of that title. It is the last painting in this series.

FINISHED

Written October 3, 2020

Bob invited us to showcase our art in a special celebration on top of the completed bridge. Due to the virus, it was a closed event for management of the collaborating companies in the bridge construction. Bob was master of ceremonies. The first thing he did was thank Lauren Lombardi. The second thing he did was draw attention to our art project. He talked about how the people there (managers, administrators, engineers and workers) were essentially engaged in a creative process, but they did not think of themselves as artists; they thought of the bridge as a project, something to be built, and they were the workers. Our art, he said, demonstrates that they are also creating art. He was more eloquent than I am here; it was really an honor. He went on to suggest that after the speeches, everyone take time to look at and enjoy the work.

THANKS

  • To Betty Cretara, for introducing me to Bob.
  • To Bob Schraeder, for setting up this once-in-a-lifetime experience, his eloquent statements about the connection between our art and the bridge construction, and his continued support of the project.
  • To Lauren Lombardi, for coordinating all of this.
  • To Dion Grim, for finding venues and making us safe.
  • To Juan Jimenez, for lugging us up and down the bridge, always in good spirits.
  • To Kathryn Babcock, my steadfast painting partner.
  • To Sarah Arnold and Liz Talbot for joining us when they could.
  • To Peggy Sivert, Director of SoLA Gallery, for providing our first opportunity to showcase the work.
  • To Marka Burns and the Long Beach Creative Group, for providing an opportunity to display the work in our own community.
  • To Arsenio Trinidad and Nick Santa Ana, for sharing their photographs.
  • And most of all, to William, for your constant support and encouragement in all of my art endeavors, which would never have gone this far without your influence.
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