Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Art in the Time of Covid

"Yellow Roses Iris"

"White Crowned Sparrow Magnolia"
Hello, and thanks for reading my blog. It's been ages since I added a post on here, but now I am!
Hope you and your family are well; it is a very scary time in the world right now, but never has the world felt like one big family going through the same challenges.
I've been at home, and working a lot along with all the housekeeping duties.
Recently I had an exhibit I called "Flowery" at the Santa Barbara Art Association's Gallery 113. I am a newish member of SBAA, and that was my first featured artist show.  It was extra fun because several of my artist friends were showing at the same time.  Our opening happened on the cusp of the coronavirus arriving in the US, before we were all sheltering at home.
Our opening was well attended, I especially enjoyed talking to people about my work, and there were some students that attended as well, and they asked such great questions.  I sold 3 paintings to one of my favorite collectors and a friend who came to the opening with her.
In the pictures above, the one with the sparrow is part of that show, which is still in place at Gallery 113, waiting for the reopening. I love the complexity of magnolia trees, all the phases they go through and the large creamy white blooms.  We had the white crowned sparrows stop by our back garden so I made this artwork combining these two subjects.
The other painting, with the Iris, was made after I started sheltering in place.  So, my work, while maintaining my usual subject matter, has evolved into this style.  I've even started signing my work in a new way. I'm pretty intrigued that this has happened.  I'm very inspired by this new style, and have made 8 paintings so far.  I'm going with the inspiration, and the inspiration comes from walking around the neighborhood near our home, and all the beautiful gardens of my neighbors.
This new work is not available yet. Some of it will show up next year in scheduled shows and some will be available in the next month or two.

At the moment, the Ojai gallery my work is in, Poppies Art and Gifts, has moved into an online shop. Check it out at:
poppiesartandgifts.indiemade.com. Poppies will reopen, as the virus eases.
Also please look at my website, SkyheartArt.com, where you can browse my work, and make a purchase if you fall in love with a painting.
Thanks for stopping by my blog, and take care!
Lisa Skyheart Marshall