"Art in the Time of Coronavirus" ... food for thought

Original: Tribal Kimono, 2020. 24"x36", mixed media on panel.

How is it that being under New Mexico's "stay-at-home" mandate provides so much "free time" at home, yet the days seem to fly by during the current Covid19 crisis? I know I could be/should be in the studio painting away for hours on end, since there are no places to go or things to do to distract me. But that is not happening, and I am flummoxed by it all. 

I do try to resist the newsfeed and emails on my cellphone, computer, and iPad. I have avoided watching daylong media reports on the TV as well. I even put my cellphone in another room while I am working in the studio. 

Yet, the notification ding on my electronic devices is seductive and being "informed" is addictive: Is it good news or bad? Is the curve flattening? Are the number of infections rising? The death rate increasing? Is there a test yet that is truly reliable? Any progress on a vaccine so this can be over? When will my stimulus check arrive? Will our country go broke for working people? Or will working people die if they go back to work? Whom to believe: Wall Street? or Scientists, Doctors, Healthcare Professionals? 

How will I know if I don't at least look at the headlines to know what is going on in the world at large? And then I am hooked for hours on end, reading every incoming scrap of news and related story. And day after day, another day has slipped by.

Back in my small, personal world of home and studio is Tribal Kimono, a painting I finished last month just as Coronavirus was replacing our "Normal Lives" and cancelling my April exhibit at LRoss Gallery in Memphis. It's quite different from many of my other kimono paintings which are based on organic, harmonious, nature-based forms. 

Tribal Kimono is geometric, map-like, with strong opposing arrow shapes, rendered in  black white, grey, red and gold. There is chaos and order, light and dark, pattern and randomness.  

As I look at this painting today, I ask myself: Did Covid19 seep into my subconscious as I worked on this kimono painting during January, February, and March? Are the horizontals and verticals the charts and graphs of coronavirus spreads, deaths, recoveries? Are the dotted areas hotspots of outbreaks? Are the curves rising or flattening? Which beliefs, opinions, and facts are right--in the blacks, whites, or  greys?  Which "authorities"--government, scientific, healthcare, corporate, political, religious--should we follow? Which arrow is the direction our country should take? Are the red areas warnings and dangers? The gold ones, truths and solutions? 

Since "We're all in this together", does this painting somehow represent the current "tribal" kimono that America is collectively wearing?

What do you think? And how are these days in the Time of Coronavirus going for you?

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©2020 Carol L. Adamec, text and image. All rights reserved.

"Art in the Time of CoronaVirus"....

Kimono Swing 2, 2020, oil, gold on canvas, 36" x 48"

It's been several weeks since I last posted. Since Christmas, I have been working 6-8 hours a day, almost every day, painting new work for a solo exhibit “In a Japanese Garden” that was scheduled for the month of April at LRoss Gallery in Memphis, TN. Last week the show was (mutually) cancelled, hopefully postponed until later this year, or rescheduled for next spring.

I am feeling part disappointment; and part relief to not have a 1,000 mile drive from Albuquerque to Memphis ahead of me and being away from home during this turbulent, unpredictable time.

However, I thought I’d use this blog to share a sneak preview of some of the new work that I completed for the show. Enjoy!

The painting posted today is “Kimono Swing 2”, oil on stretched canvas, 36” x 48” (yeah, it’s a big one for me!)

The work "kimono" means "something to wear" so there are many styles of kimono for different occasions. This painting is based on the furisode, a woman's kimono, and the fanciest Japanese kimono worn for various special events. Traditionally the furisode kimono was worn by young, unmarried women and was made with the finest fabrics, the most lavish designs, and embellished with metallic threads. The word "furisode" means "swinging sleeves" which can vary in length from 15 inches to three feet. If a young woman wanted to attract a certain young man's attention, she would gently swing the long sleeves of her furisode kimono to signal her interest.

Inspired by these factors, I composed this painting to portray the layering of materials and colorful patterning with gold accents of a furisode, along with the excitement of youthful romantic attraction on a lighthearted, breezy spring day.

Thank you for taking a look at my work. Please stay safe and be careful during this time.
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©2020 Carol L. Adamec,Text and image,  All rights reserved.

Painting for my next show...

"White Bouquet" 2020, oil on gessoed panel, 18"x18"

Wow! It's already February. 

I've been in the studio almost every day since the holidays, often painting for several hours, preparing new work for my next "In a Japanese Garden" exhibit to be shown in Memphis, TN. 
A few weeks ago, this painting came together. I'm happy with it.

Happy New Year!
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©Text and image, 2020 Carol L. Adamec, All rights reserved.

Now showing...

"Kimono Anasazi", mixed media on panel, 12x12".
Available at L Ross Gallery, Memphis, TN

Part of my summer travels this year took me to Memphis, TN, where I dropped off six paintings at L Ross Gallery. I was pleased to meet the new gallery owner Laurie Brown and to see the newly renovated gallery space at 5040 Sanderlin Avenue, Suite 103, in East Memphis. The new space is very lovely, and I am looking forward to having my one-person exhibit, "In a Japanese Garden", shown there next spring, April 1-26, 2020.

The Gallery is open Tuesday - Friday, 10am-5pm; and Saturdays, 11am-3pm. Check out the website, send an email to get on their e-list, or give them a call at 901.767.2200 to see the current exhibit and upcoming shows.

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Text and image©2019 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Back to work...

"DD's Bouquet", 2019, original oil on gessoed panel, 6"x6" 

This has been a travel-filled summer for me, delivering artwork to LRoss Gallery in Memphis, TN, and visiting family. So I was very happy to be back home in New Mexico this week and painting in the studio.

Today's post is the first of my next series of small paintings: some for sale in the fall, and others saved for my next Japanese Garden exhibit scheduled for Spring 2020 in Memphis at LRoss Gallery. I'll be posting new work here on my blog and on Instagram: ArtByCarolAdamec.

Thank you for stopping by and please feel free to leave a comment.
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Text & image ©2019 Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

Sneak Preview #4...And help from an Art Friend

"Rose Petal Kimono", 2019. Mixed media, rose petals on panel, 20x16. (Photo credit: Margot Geist)

Saturday afternoon I finished up all the framing and wiring and delivered 24 pieces of art to the Weyrich Gallery for my exhibit "In a Japanese Garden, Revisited.". Ahhhhhh....now I can relax a bit until this Friday evening's opening from 5-8:30pm.

Although most colors in the pink family are not ones I use very often, I love the color of the background on this painting. It's called Persian Rose, a Williamsburg Handmade Oil pigment made by Golden Paints. 

But when I was deciding which hue to choose, I thought of my friend Annabelle Meacham, an artist who lives and works in Memphis, TN. Annabelle is a bold colorist, and it came to my mind, "What color would Annabelle choose?" I grabbed the Persian Rose and painted it in. Perfect! 

Thank you, Annabelle, for being an inspiration for this painting!

(You can see more of Annabelle's work at LRoss Gallery.)

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Text and Image ©2019 Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

My next BIG show...Sneak Peek #1

Original by Carol L Adamec: "Golden Garden Light", 2017. Mixed media, 11"x14" (framed size).

It's been a busy summer! I had a great time in Memphis, at the LRoss Gallery for the "Elvis Has Left the Building" show. There was a DJ spinning old Elvis songs, and a big crowd humming along with the music while viewing all the Elvis-themed artwork.

Also, I have been working on my next one-person show: "In a Japanese Garden", to be exhibited this fall at George A. Spiva Center for the Arts in Joplin, Missouri, October 14 - December 8. 

As I am finishing up pieces for the show, I'll be posting them here on my blog. So here's the first sneak peek. Enjoy!

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Text and Image ©2017 Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.