Our thirty-first post of the series, Artists in the Time of Coronavirus includes Anastasiia Danylova, Pamela Tudor, Thomas Pickarski, JP Weber, Agathe Bouton, and Liz Augustine! Thank you for all who submitted! And if you want to participate, send your statement (250 words max) and 2 photos to support@theartblog.org. More details here. Stay safe and stay positive, and come back in the days to come for more “Artists in the Time of Coronavirus.” We have a wonderful community and are so proud of being able to share everyone’s art.
[Note: We have gotten almost 300 submissions, so if you haven’t seen yours yet, don’t worry- it is coming, and we can’t wait to post it!]
Anastasiia Danylova
Hello!
My name is Anastasiia, I’m a Ukrainian digital artist based in Washington DC. I just started my art journey, I always felt like I’m an artist but started doing it professionally only 3 years ago, when came to the US. I don’t have a big body of work, but I’m submitting one of my favorite ones.
My life didn’t change a whole lot since this pandemic happened, but it sure has an impact on my work. Being unable to visit places that inspire me is making it harder to create. However, looking on the bright side, I have more time to acquire new skills, learn something new and spend all my free time creating.I really hope this time will pass soon, and everything will be back on track. We all in this together and I wish everyone to be safe and strong.
Best of wishes, Anastasiia.
Pamela Tudor
I’m an artist based in Philadelphia, now hunkered down in Florida, waiting to come home. I have a small studio here, and have been experimenting with different media since I’m without my usual large canvases and bigger workspace. Life is not that different for me – although the setting is- because I often spend long hours by myself in my studio. This time-out has given me more time to think about what is important and the interconnectedness of all of us and this planet.
Besides experimenting with new media, which is a freeing delight, highlights of my day are my musician friend’s cello porch concerts on FB, Face-Timing with loved ones, the morning walk amongst the palm trees, live oaks and bird song, reading, and watching YouTube singer/songwriters.
I find myself looking for “the crack in the world where the light gets in”. Thanks to Leonard Cohen for the beautiful poetry of that song and his entire body of work. I have started some small paintings based on that theme. I’ll make big ones when I get HOME.
www.pamelatudor.com
Instagram: pntudor10
Thomas Pickarski
As a traditional landscape artist, recently I yearned to create a visually stunning yet meaningful installation on the landscape. In my photographic Masked Figure series, a human figure wearing a reptilian mask stands as witness to the disappearance of life as we know it.
Thomas Pickarski
ThomasPickarski.com
JP Weber
Text by Lindsey Weber, JP’s wife
JP Weber is a former banker turned self taught artist who paints acrylic on canvas – using different tools and techniques and vibrant expressive colors. Weber had been in banking for 15 years when he came to a breaking point in 2016. He found himself repeating patterns from childhood that led him to be overworked, not present in his 3 daughters’ lives, and not honoring his own self. It was this awakening experience in 2016 that led him to start painting – “I feel like I need to paint”. The only way to keep his own mental health in check was to validate himself through art. Since 2016 he has been painting and hasn’t turned back.
JP currently has an inventory of over 600 paintings as well as over 6000 textile patterns created from his art – a collection of these designs has been turned into fabrics, pouches, table linens and more. Please visit @johnhamster and @adaptationsdesigns on Instagram!
In the meantime I’m happy to share these two recent articles about my husband. Mental health is so important, especially now, and we want to be sure to keep spreading the awareness.
UPDATE: JP Weber currently has 10 works for sale on instagram, the proceeds of which will go to a local family in need due to COVID-19. You can purchase works at @luvyabuns until May 24th, 2020.
Agathe Bouton
Ever since growing up in Paris I have always adored cities and architecture. I have lived all over the world, and in each place my work has been infused by the architecture and culture around me.
Whether the buildings are a new block of offices or apartments, an abandoned warehouse, an old administrative center, or a half-demolished home, I am drawn to the history and lives they evoke. I am attracted to their intrinsic beauty, whether that beauty comes from design or degradation or a combination of the two. My latest work, inspired by my current home, Philadelphia, is an interpretation of these buildings – sometimes in detail, sometimes with a broader view. These urban landscapes impress with grand facades, patchworks of windows, unique color palettes, and mirrored images of sky.
My work evokes reflections on the lives lived within these spaces. Finding and creating beauty in the urbanism that surrounds us, my work transmutes decay and deterioration into serenity, story, and hue.
You can follow me on social media,
IG: www.instagram.com/agathebouton
FB: www.facebook.com/agathebouton.artist
and my website: agathebouton.com
Liz Augustine
I am a 67 year old artist who grew up in the collar county of Philly – Delaware County. I still live in Pennsylvania, but am farther from the city. Yet, I stay in touch with The Artblog. After high school, I studied at Moore College of Art, though I did not graduate. Last year, I finally received my MFA in Visual Art from Wilson College, in Chambersburg, PA. Guess you can say I’ve been a life-long learner.
One of my high school friends has the virus. I never thought it would affect someone I know. Art tells the story and is the essence of life, even when the story is a dire one.
Here is the story of my work:
The masks, and the masks upon masks, represent death. The green body of the woman is the image of a sick world. The sun has turned blood red. Indeed, in this time of Covid-19, even the sickles in the painting represent death.Liz Augustine My Website: lizaugustineartist.weebly.com
