Wow, what a crazy 2 years we have all been through and as we start to get back to our new lives. I've spent my time painting and trying to give others a place to rest and see something nice with my art, to let others know that they are not alone. As many of you know my work to have symbolic meaning often referring to the human condition. I noticed that many of us are struggling with adapting back to life after covid. Some people are being rude, others are distant (like they are in a fog), some scream, other are still drinking a lot, some still are crying and others just don't want to do anything. I'll admit I'm struggling with the adapting back myself. Mostly with, What are the expectations others want from me and what are my expectations of others?
Have you ever ridden on a tandem bike or been in a kayak / canoe for two? Well if you haven't imagine that your in the front and your buddy is in the spot behind you. You're enjoying the views and having a nice time. Then you notice that everything starts to get a little harder and you look back and see that your buddy has propped up their feet leaving you to do all the work, not cool. What do you do? I think that is where we are as a society right now. Some of us are trying and others are propping up their feet.
Now I'm not talking about those who need some help. Anyone of us would be more than willing to paddle or peddle (take on the extra work ) while they get better and some days it might even be us that needs someone else to do the work. So as we get back to our lives take the time to reflect; am I causing someone to carry my load, do I need to take a break or maybe ditch the dead weight and find a better buddy.
FYI these times will be effecting my art.
This is a rough draft for an up coming painting titled - Helping Others. If you can't make since of my short hand drawing, it's an elephant with a variety of monkeys on his back while walking through a bunch of dead monkeys. Some of my nursing friends really related to this concept.