“Waiting for the Second Wave”
Quarantine Collection
2021
I started this piece during a time where I was very uninspired, discouraged, and depressed. Not only was I surviving a pandemic, but I was also choosing to sort through deeper issues in therapy. It was hard for me to create anything since most of my art is very detailed and requires a lot of focus and energy. I was starting to come to terms with the fact that depression was a part of my life, and I had to embrace it instead of trying to hide from it.
My therapist suggested I try painting when I was depressed. Immediately I thought of how sad and ugly the painting would look, and who would want to buy my depression painting anyway?! She said I was getting ahead of myself (true) and that I should just try it. I could destroy the canvas if I wanted to, which honestly sounded like more fun than the painting itself. So I just started spreading some paint on a canvas. It felt good to not have a plan, to just experiment with different drip techniques, picking colors that reflected my mood. I’d never put my emotions into art like this before. And to be honest, this piece hid behind my desk for a while until I was able to face it again. I didn’t like how my depression looked. It was dark and not how I typically like to represent myself as an artist.
A month later I was moving my desk into my new studio and the depression painting fell over onto the floor. I had an empty nail in the studio so I just stuck it up there to get it out of the way. It hung perfectly between the two windows, and the more time I spent looking at it… the more beautiful it became. I started to appreciate the subtle fading of blue into purple, and even the gray middle tones. I knew it needed a little something more, and suddenly the perfect accent line came to me.
The silver line represents the coronavirus cases in the United States one year into this pandemic. I checked those stats frequently during this time, hoping to see the “second wave” that everyone was anticipating. I’m not really sure if the second wave came, or if we are still just riding this bumpy first wave. Either way, this line is a representation of the depression many of us have experienced this year.
The “silver lining” of this piece is that I was able to embrace my depression, turning it into a beautiful and relatable work of art. It is uncharted territory for me to be vulnerable and share this part of myself, but I’ve been dealing with depression since I was a kid and I know I am not alone. Thankfully this painting did not get destroyed, which was the initial motivation for starting the piece. So maybe one of you can prove me wrong by purchasing it for yourself!
*winks*
16”x20” Acrylic on Canvas
Quarantine Collection
2021
I started this piece during a time where I was very uninspired, discouraged, and depressed. Not only was I surviving a pandemic, but I was also choosing to sort through deeper issues in therapy. It was hard for me to create anything since most of my art is very detailed and requires a lot of focus and energy. I was starting to come to terms with the fact that depression was a part of my life, and I had to embrace it instead of trying to hide from it.
My therapist suggested I try painting when I was depressed. Immediately I thought of how sad and ugly the painting would look, and who would want to buy my depression painting anyway?! She said I was getting ahead of myself (true) and that I should just try it. I could destroy the canvas if I wanted to, which honestly sounded like more fun than the painting itself. So I just started spreading some paint on a canvas. It felt good to not have a plan, to just experiment with different drip techniques, picking colors that reflected my mood. I’d never put my emotions into art like this before. And to be honest, this piece hid behind my desk for a while until I was able to face it again. I didn’t like how my depression looked. It was dark and not how I typically like to represent myself as an artist.
A month later I was moving my desk into my new studio and the depression painting fell over onto the floor. I had an empty nail in the studio so I just stuck it up there to get it out of the way. It hung perfectly between the two windows, and the more time I spent looking at it… the more beautiful it became. I started to appreciate the subtle fading of blue into purple, and even the gray middle tones. I knew it needed a little something more, and suddenly the perfect accent line came to me.
The silver line represents the coronavirus cases in the United States one year into this pandemic. I checked those stats frequently during this time, hoping to see the “second wave” that everyone was anticipating. I’m not really sure if the second wave came, or if we are still just riding this bumpy first wave. Either way, this line is a representation of the depression many of us have experienced this year.
The “silver lining” of this piece is that I was able to embrace my depression, turning it into a beautiful and relatable work of art. It is uncharted territory for me to be vulnerable and share this part of myself, but I’ve been dealing with depression since I was a kid and I know I am not alone. Thankfully this painting did not get destroyed, which was the initial motivation for starting the piece. So maybe one of you can prove me wrong by purchasing it for yourself!
*winks*
16”x20” Acrylic on Canvas
Quarantine Collection
2021
I started this piece during a time where I was very uninspired, discouraged, and depressed. Not only was I surviving a pandemic, but I was also choosing to sort through deeper issues in therapy. It was hard for me to create anything since most of my art is very detailed and requires a lot of focus and energy. I was starting to come to terms with the fact that depression was a part of my life, and I had to embrace it instead of trying to hide from it.
My therapist suggested I try painting when I was depressed. Immediately I thought of how sad and ugly the painting would look, and who would want to buy my depression painting anyway?! She said I was getting ahead of myself (true) and that I should just try it. I could destroy the canvas if I wanted to, which honestly sounded like more fun than the painting itself. So I just started spreading some paint on a canvas. It felt good to not have a plan, to just experiment with different drip techniques, picking colors that reflected my mood. I’d never put my emotions into art like this before. And to be honest, this piece hid behind my desk for a while until I was able to face it again. I didn’t like how my depression looked. It was dark and not how I typically like to represent myself as an artist.
A month later I was moving my desk into my new studio and the depression painting fell over onto the floor. I had an empty nail in the studio so I just stuck it up there to get it out of the way. It hung perfectly between the two windows, and the more time I spent looking at it… the more beautiful it became. I started to appreciate the subtle fading of blue into purple, and even the gray middle tones. I knew it needed a little something more, and suddenly the perfect accent line came to me.
The silver line represents the coronavirus cases in the United States one year into this pandemic. I checked those stats frequently during this time, hoping to see the “second wave” that everyone was anticipating. I’m not really sure if the second wave came, or if we are still just riding this bumpy first wave. Either way, this line is a representation of the depression many of us have experienced this year.
The “silver lining” of this piece is that I was able to embrace my depression, turning it into a beautiful and relatable work of art. It is uncharted territory for me to be vulnerable and share this part of myself, but I’ve been dealing with depression since I was a kid and I know I am not alone. Thankfully this painting did not get destroyed, which was the initial motivation for starting the piece. So maybe one of you can prove me wrong by purchasing it for yourself!
*winks*
16”x20” Acrylic on Canvas