Over the past 2 years, Covid-19 has changed life as we knew it. Artists throughout history have recorded historical events - in paintings, poems, songs, photography, and other means of creative expression. “Awaiting A Cure” is my Covid-19 painting. I was driven to create this painting by an incident I experienced early in the pandemic, which, in a simple way, showed how people were suddenly readjusting even their most mundane activities… like buying a pound of bacon.
The scene which prompted my idea was at a nearby business where country hams and bacon are slow cured and aged on site. They use traditional processes, family recipes, and ‘a generous amount of time and patience.' Locals are pleased to be able to buy these and other specialty items right from the shop, often assisted by one of the butchers.
Soon after folks started masking and distancing to lessen the spread of the Covid virus, I stopped by this shop. It amused me when I saw a line of people standing along the handicap ramp (which is actually on the left side of the store), all masked and distanced. All the customers waited their turn to get to the entry door, placed their order with the sales person, paid when he came back to the door with the total cost, then received their purchase delivered at the door. This was a new experience, for sure. It was the business slogan painted on the exterior block wall, “We Cure ‘Em,” that hatched my painting idea: to visually depict a play on the word “cure.” Now I just had to figure out how to present my vision on paper!
For months I pondered ways to simplify the image so my primary message would dominate. I took reference photos of figures in casual poses, capturing young and old, male and female. The old fashioned lettering on the building had a particular charm, reminding me of my father-in-law Paul Lavoie who hand lettered signs like this in his youth while working as a meat cutter with his older brothers in their neighborhood store. I wanted the focus of my painting to be the “We Cure ‘Em” slogan and the masked figures, distancing from one another.
I often compose my paintings in Photoshop, having had decades of experience with the software as a professional graphic artist. I roughly silhoetted some of the figures I thought might work and pasted them into a photo of the building exterior. I played around with several versions, changing the figures, moving them, flopping them. I came up with the idea of adding a ramp, which would make a more interesting arrangement of the queue versus all in a flat line, and added one foreground figure who would be shown as if he had made his purchase and was exiting in the opposite direction. This created a deeper three dimensional space, which I found appealing too.
From a technical point of view, I used heavyweight 300lb. Arches coldpressed watercolor paper. My color palette included 6 transparent watercolor pigments: raw sienna, burnt sienna, permanent rose, hookers green, cerulean blue, and ultramarine blue. I used a bottle of masking fluid which I figured I ought to use up; it painted on smoothly but was extraordinarily difficult to remove. I had not encountered masking issues since adopting Pebeo Drawing Gum liquid frisket a few years ago, so I will not use any others in the future. I also used some Faber-Castell watercolor pencils to simplify the process of indicating concrete blocks on the wall.
This one-minute video shows the steps in my creation of "Awaiting A Cure..."
- initial graphite transfer from my digital composition
- glaze with a transparent warm golden color
- masking fluid applied to help keep the lettering light
- glaze of green over the signage area
- masking removed, focus wall detailed
- subtle details on the ground
- figures started from left to right
- left wall painted green to be less contrasty
I'm hooked on details, as you may have noticed. I loved creating the individual characters with the candid gestures, variety of poses, and varied clothing. Using the limited palette of colors helped keep an overall harmony amidst their differences. What fun I had adding the big ham to the man in the foreground!
Click to see a 60-second time-lapse of the creation process.
COVID-19 has effected life in every corner of the globe, causing everything from minor inconveniences to enormous tragedies. As an artist I wanted to visually document this epoch. My painting illustrates a play on the word ‘cure’ and a touch of irony in the situation. Know, however, that I am not attempting to downplay the seriousness of this world crisis, and I have tremendous sympathy for those who have suffered because of the virus.
