Painting and the Pandemic

March 2021

Many artists I know want to somehow capture the strange beauty of the past 12 months in art. But how to paint the pandemic? I have seen paintings of masks, portraits of first responders, and many artworks depicting isolation and illness. I wanted to focus on a small slice-of-life that came to be during the pandemic: the Driveway Concert. 

 One evening I walked out on my patio and heard the strain of Herbie Hancock’s "I Have a Dream" drifting over the trees. I followed the sound, going around the block, to find a jazz quartet playing in a driveway. The quartet continued to perform, about every two weeks, as weather and time allowed. When it turned cold, and the days grew short, they ceased, but perhaps now that spring is coming they will start up again. 

I first painted a watercolor of the scene, based on a photo. The photo was taken at twilight, so details are limited. Now I'm working on an oil painting of the same scene. The work in progress is shown below and the final on this Gallery page.