Hello everyone. I’d like to tell you all about the Covid art journal we are putting together. When I say we, I mean the Rotherham Roar group of artists that I am a member of. Obviously, we have not been able to hold our meetings in person since March now. And, as for the exhibition we were planning to put on together, that’s been put on hold. However, we’ve been meeting on Zoom. And we decided to make a record of our feelings during this strange time. For most people this has taken the form of work on paper in a sketchbook.
My Contribution to the Covid Art Journal
This is the first half of my double page spread. You see, I decided to highlight the way my mood fluctuates from one day to the next. So here we have ‘Good Day ‘ and it shows optimism, hopefully. Perhaps this day the sun is shining and I’ve been out for a walk in the fresh air. And I’ve been counting my blessings and feeling confident that things will work out well. To explain, I tried to show the beauty of the world and hope for a bright future.
The Second Half of my Pandemic Art Journal Contribution
As you can tell, this gouache painting represents those unhappy feelings that we have probably all experienced recently. To be honest, I had fairly sad things on my mind when I painted this . And I tried to show this in the spiky shapes, gloomy shadows and uncomfortable atmosphere of the piece. Anyway, that’s enough of doom and gloom for the moment. But, I must admit that the situation and free time has given me the opportunity to do a lot of creative work. So, it’s not all bad!
Some Happy Pages from my Own Covid Art Journal
This mixed media piece ‘ Cheerful ‘ was painted back in March, and it certainly cheered me up at the time ! You might like to have a look at more of my art journal ideas here .
Nice art journal and it became more meaningful when you explain the thought behind the painting.
Thank you so much! I’m glad you find the story behind the pictures interesting . It’s something I enjoy finding out about myself when I’m looking at other artists work.
Oh yeah, it’s so real, the colors I chose, the brush stroke, the medium, often reflect my mood, interesting to see them side by side!
Thank you, Tiffany. I suppose it really focused my mind, having to produce two pages. And, I agree, it was quite intense to see them together.
I like Good Day and Cheerful, particularly. They seem to have a nice rhythm of shapes, petals and leaves and both have a strong diagonal flow.
Thank you, Graham. When I’m doing this kind of intuitive abstract I must admit I am also thinking about the design of the shapes in the back of my mind. But, they are not planned in advance. So, it can be quite relaxing.
Lovely Margaret and quite inspiring. Your colours are very well chosen to enhance the message of your compositions. Great! I just don’t like the word COVID in there, for me it is a period I would much rather forget. Cheers my friend and all the best,
F
Thank you, Francisco. I’ve done lots of this emotional stuff this year. It seems to help . The art journal hasn’t actually got a name yet- we are trying to decide on something appropriate- as you say, something more positive would be best. Cheers.
It is quite a lovely idea Margaret, for sure, all the best,
F
Great idea to put together a COVID journal or will it be an exhibition? from your artist group, a good way to work together towards a common project 😊
Yes, I agree, it is a great idea. At the moment, it’s only a sketchbook. But, in the future, who knows? I’d love it to be an exhibition!