Cap Region Creatives in Quarantine Gallery

We’ve organized the Creatives in Quarantine Gallery as a scrolling experience, so that it feels a bit like you’re strolling a physical gallery; you can stop to admire the details and notations that catch your eye, and move on to admire the next piece that interests you. We hope this provides a moment of refuge for all who visit. Inspiration and vision are as contagious as the virus, so in that spirit, let’s celebrate these creations of our fellow locals!

If you would like to submit your work, please email Gabby Fisher, ACE Digital Manager.

Submitted by Laura McDonald, Owner of Blue Peregrine Salon

Click here to watch Laura’s TikTok video, turning into Kurt Cobain.

Laura says, “I have always been an artist and usually work with oils. In the past few years I became increasingly interested in makeup as a medium but could only really use it around Halloween. I’ve decided during this quarantine, that everyday is Halloween. It started with a happy hour Zoom. I wanted to make my friends laugh so I surprised every one and showed up on the call in one of my markups . It was genuine laughter that we all needed. After that I stared to try different people and characters and post it on my social media page just to get some other people to laugh. It ended up being very therapeutic for me for my friends as well as myself.”

Submitted by Marta Parotte

Submitted by Anthony Richichi / Kayla Albano

Anthony is a gallery curator, painter and illustrator out of Glens Falls (IG). He says, “I have been working on a “virtual social-distance collab” with local illustrator/graphic designer Kayla Albano, emailing back and forth linework and building them into final pieces.” Kayla is a professional graphic designer, photographer and SUNY New Paltz graduate out of Queensbury (IG).

Submitted by Rebecca Zeh, of Saratoga Arts

Dip or No Dip, An Awesome Question, mixed media collage…Rebecca says, “My husband and I have been in quarantine together the whole time, both working from home. One night we decided to make collages as a fun creative activity we can do together. It was a lot of fun and a great use for magazines and old calendars laying around. This type of intuitive art project is very cathartic!”

New Years Day, Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve, acrylic on canvas. Rebecca says, “This painting was the first piece I started and finished in quarantine. This is a scene from a New Years Day walk at Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve. The color palette and mood of the scene very much reflect my state of mind during this time. Moody, but also hopeful with the light peaking through the clouds. It’s a great metaphor for the ups and downs I’ve been feeling and I’m sure a lot of people have been feeling.”

Rebecca is a fine artist who grew up just outside of Saratoga Springs, NY in Greenfield Center. In 2012 she received her BFA with a concentration in drawing from Pratt Institute. She has had a passion for the arts since a very young age and has exhibited her work in several businesses and art galleries in the Capital Region as well as some during her time at school in New York City. She currently works as the Exhibitions Coordinator at Saratoga Arts, a not-for-profit arts organization whose mission is to make the arts accessible to all.

Submitted by Carl Strock

From Carl: “I’m a retired newspaper columnist (Daily Gazette, Schenectady), living in Saratoga, longtime amateur photographer, who has filled much of my time taking pictures during this difficult period, mostly on daily hikes with my wife in local nature preserves, but also occasionally of the deserted streets of Saratoga at night.”

Levine Nature Preserve. Carl says, “To preserve my equilibrium in this unbalanced time I have been hiking local nature preserves, along with my wife, and taking photos along the way, then, in some cases, editing them to give them an old-time faded look and a comforting feel of antiquity.”

Submitted by Margo Singer

From Margo, “These are a few of the photos that I was planning for a show {that was planned for April but cancelled due to the crisis}, from my recent vacation to the Caribbean. I was extremely lucky to be on vacation in early March, as I returned on March 11th and I was ordered to “work from home” starting the very next day. My vacation was planned over a year ago and included visiting St. Thomas and Puerto Rico, where these photographs are taken. I often wonder how the lovely people I met in the places are faring now during the pandemic. I hope they are well and surviving, given the fact that these two communities rely heavily on tourism, especially from the cruise industry….I personally find that bright colors put me in the middle for awaiting Spring locally.”

Submitted by Annemarie Baldauf

Annemarie created this art via 3D printer.

Submitted by Elissa Kane

Submitted by Chelsea Fisher, @chrlseafishr

Chelsea has been home writing poetry, painting, and creating these collages from her own books, photos, and writing pieces. On the top right, you’ll see “I painted my nails purple in hopes you’d stay,” a piece she created “at 12am when sleep wasn’t in sight and my body ached with heartache.” On the bottom right, you’ll see the cover of her latest poetry zine, a series of poems to help everyone experience a little bit of poetry and art during quarantine. You can read it here.

Submitted by Jeff Wigman

From Jeff, “I have been busy in the studio each day, keeping in touch with the outside world through art. Nighttime has been a prevalent theme lately. Be safe everyone.”

Submitted by Jean Krueger

Jean has an on-going series of small ink drawings called ‘Daily Cat.” Here are a few samples.

Submitted by Mary Francis Millet

Embroidered piece on vintage linen, “Wash Your Hands.”

Submitted by Michelle Vara

Intimacy Without Proximity_Oil on canvas.

Michelle wrote a blog post entitled “Crazy Time of Change”, where you can find more new work.

Submitted by Maria DeAngelo, @artyladymsd

Submitted by Helen Murphy

Submitted by Jade Warrick, @trashkid_art

Jade has been at home, working alongside her birds, and creating throughout the quarantine. She painted the mural (on the top right) as part of an initiative by Albany Center Gallery to express the community’s gratitude and support for its healthcare workers and offer messages of hope throughout the crisis.

Submitted by Jeanne Finley, J-Fin Photography

Jeanne says, “I’m a writer-turned-photographer who loves to photograph people, in the street or at home or in a rally or demonstration. It’s difficult now to do that, so instead I’m focusing on the natural world, the beauty that we often overlook in our daily “normal” activity. In late March I went to Ann Lee Pond and Shaker Site in Colonie, my favorite peaceful place, and found these.

Submitted by Phyllis Brown

Phyllis is a retired art teacher retired art teacher from North Warren Central School in Chestertown. Phyllis says, “During this period of pandemic isolation, I have been inspired by artists like Matisse, who made his beautiful, colorful, and whimsical cutouts while, and despite being bedridden, and Laurel Burch, whose joyful and vibrant artwork graces scarves and tote bags and jewelry and such. Burch suffered from a brittle bone disease and lived her life in terrible pain, and yet despite the pain, created such hopeful artwork. Keeping their work in mind, I bought myself flowers during a pre-dawn trip to the grocery store and have been painting them using acrylics. Hopefully when the last of the purchased flowers has gone, there will be flowers in my yard to use for further inspiration.”

Submitted by Steve Derrick, Director of Organizational Development for Vicarious Visions / Activision Blizzard Studios

Steve created these drawings and gauche paintings of “COVID-19 medical staff eyes.” Many local response workers have reached out to him to be their subjects, and now people all over the country and UK are contacting him regarding this powerful artwork. Click here for more.

Submitted by Paul Fahey, Vice President of Overit Media

Paul says “Unfortunately, it took a pandemic for me to find the time to paint again. Although it certainly wasn’t hard to find time these past few weeks. I’m a little rusty, but here it is. I chose a cold, quiet scene to capture some of what I’ve been feeling during this time. And it’s the view from my home office that I’ve been staring at for weeks. I was a fine art major at SUNY New Paltz but spent most of my career in marketing and PR strategy. I just remembered how much I enjoyed painting and am already at work on my second this month. Now I just need to make the time to keep painting after all of this is over.”

Submitted by Richard Deon, Visual/Graphic Artist

Richard has submitted these two pieces of work from his TRIBUTE series. 1. Baby-Face, acrylic on carved, shaped plywood, metal frame, 26 in. 2. Chinese Doctor on Pie Chart, acrylic on carved, shaped plywood, metal frame, 26 in. Richard says, “The pandemic chopped a publication design project off the production schedule and left me with enough time to extend my Tribute portrait series. I was inspired by the uniform size portraits in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.”

Submission by Marilyn McCabe, Author

Marilyn is a poet based in Saratoga Springs with a new book out, Being Many Seeds. She’s done a video-poem with excerpts of the book which you can watch here. The cover photo of the book was taken by Hudson Valley playwright and photographer Nina Shengold as part of her ongoing project of documenting her life near the Ashokan Reservoir.

Submitted by Carolyn Huston

Carolyn says, “I wanted to share a video of my son reading my 12th picture book about children with autism. This one is unique because he helped select all of the photos that went it in and also helped with the wording. It was released in early March an we had hoped to promote it throughout April, Autism Awareness month. That did not happen. As April is wrapping up, I wanted to share it with you.”