In the Time of Covid and Palm Springs

Works in Progress

I am currently working on two bodies of work, In the Time of Covid and Palm Springs. Both series contain elements of my anxious circles-despondent spheres paintings. Both rely on the circle to represent feelings, emotions and the contradictions of dwelling in place. In the Time of Covid works also incorporate large figurative pieces. Again, I am the model, similar to my triptych, Big Girls and the nine-pieces of Bad Air. 

My five foot frame extends to cover the seven foot tall panel, standing adhered as though a watchful mother. I am full of cautionary tales and whoas. I am an angry woman in this work. I am angry at ill behaving men running around the country as if fighting for good. But, who can fight a virus with fists and flags? I’m angry that a lovely woman I know has died because of the virus or has she died because of the men? I’m unsure. In all this chaos, I stand firm and alone. 

Then, there is Palm Springs. My Palm Springs series consists of six paintings full of color and fat shapes, fat with love. I have been to the city of Palm Springs, nestled in the Coachella Valley, twice now. That dry desert town with its golden sand and blue pools contains the ongoing vibe of the crooner. You can’t help but listen to Frank Sinatra in your car. I love the dry air and ease of the small city. The uptown and downtown parts of Palm Springs are walkable. On your way to the Palm Springs Art Museum, a gargantuan Marily Monroe with a flirty smile and upturned dress invites you to stop and say Hello. Everyone does. She is the muse and the mistress of that pedestrian block. All my irritation and irritability of the past Covid years seemed to dissipate in Palm Springs. The heat killed the annoyance of past grudges and replaced it with something that felt like forgiveness. I’m not sure who I forgave when I walked in the desert or where all that anger went. Maybe anger and grudges cannot live in the desert, and for me, that is good.