We are all wondering when our lives will be restored and the prominence of Covid lose its grip on us, because it has infiltrated our lives far more than any of us imagined and many of us are willing to accept. I keep saying “it won’t be long now” and can’t wait to get the vaccine so we can have normal lives again, but the new normal will be very different to what we had prior to Covid.
This “infiltration” has been so devastating to so many, from losing loved ones, to the loss of jobs, home, savings, it’s touched every part of our existence. As an artist I’ve found watercolor has given me a great medium to explore this infiltration in our lives and express that in my artwork through color. My harmonious existence is often represented in blues and greens in my work, and in this series my world is showing the infiltration of something harsh and imposing as I use orange, golds and yellows.
I wondered how this use of contrasting colors came about, until my sister shared an interesting observation. The first 30 years of my life was spent in Australia, well except for one year in London as I took time off exploring the Middle East, Europe and the UK, but I was definitely an Aussie. After living here for almost as many years I didn’t think my “Australian-ness” would come through in my artwork, but my sister could see some very strong parallels, particularly with my choice of colors.
As a child we lived in the outskirts of Sydney, where it was hot and humid in the summer, and rainy in the winter. My world seemed to embrace the grassy green paddocks, brilliant blue skies and nearby turquoise ocean, but not far to the west was a land of burnt orange and golds of the outback crops and reddish soil scorching under the brilliant yellow sun. Such harsh contrasts from the coastal ranges to the flat outback! When I showed my sister the first of my Infiltration Series she immediately noticed this juxtaposition of colors and delighted in seeing my Australian inner-self showing through in my artwork. It came as a surprise to me because I’ve lived almost as many years away from Australia as I did there, but your childhood roots are obviously there under the surface. I’m actually excited about this part of my soul having an effect upon my choice of colors, and I’m looking forward to seeing whether shape, line and content will also show my Aussie roots shining through.
These two paintings show the harmonious green-blue world being infiltrated by a harsh orange-yellow invader, this is my way of sharing just how Covid has infiltrated our lives. In this series I have experimented with other colors and textures, which has been like science experiments each time I paint – what fun!
Once, not too long ago, we lived harmoniously, but now our lives are infiltrated by this deathly virus. I feel like my life has been frozen in time as we await the days of freedom again. We will see this virus destroyed and we’ll embrace our new normal, and at that time I will see my own new normal in art. I am intrigued by how my artwork has embraced a place where line has almost disappeared and all that’s left is planes of color, which has been a wonderful place of exploration.
So, for now as we wait, I’m here in this watercolored place of color and texture.
Continuing the series January – February 2021
