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!
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.”
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).
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.”
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.”
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.
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.”
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.
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.”
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.”
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.”
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.”
Submitted by Carol Turner
Carol says, “My husband has been cooking and I have been painting the results. As you can see, some of it went in the compost pile.”
Submitted by Lynne Bunnell
Oil painting of a lone runner in Washington Park, Albany.
Vicki is an iphoneographer from the Cooperstown area. Each isolation-day, she posts a photo from her archives and a beautiful quote. To go along with this photo, she chose, ““Amor Fati – “Love Your Fate”, which is in fact your life.” Friedrich Nietzsche … Beauty Up— My gift to you in these interesting times. Today, we go into the Beauty Archives for FORTITUDE.”
The Tough Traveler is a luggage and bag manufacturer based in Schenectady. Here Nancy is wearing one of the masks her company is sewing at their facility. They’re using a “hot knife” to cut the fabric, which allows them to cut several layers at once.
Sandra says, “I am self-employed with two businesses: I am a crocheter and a manuscript editor. I wanted to share what I’ve been up to since hunkering down. When the #518rainbowhunt started up, I decided to make a rainbow to hang in my window. Then I made a few more, posted a pic, and people wanted them. So I made a dozen. They all went out in a day. I made 20 more, and yep, they’re all gone. In the midst of all that, I decided to write up the pattern and list it on Ravelry—my first time doing this. Over 120 copies of my pattern have been downloaded, and now I’m expanding my size and shape offerings, carrying on the rainbow concept. I’m thriving in the midst of the quarantine, and I’ve never been busier. So much for using up my stash—I had to order more yarn for all of my orders! Here’s my pattern link.”
Richard has been home in Troy, NY and has decided to prepare some new designs for the masses. Watching TV and playing board games on a daily basis inspired Scrabble Rock, a retro design combining the vibe of 80’s favorite puppet show with the love of a classic board game. Richard’s most recent illustration is for Jacob’s Journey with MPS1. Jacob is in need of surgery and treatment. Click here to read more about Jacob who was diagnosed with MPS1 and how to purchase a shirt to help support this amazing boy and his family.
During quarantine, Camille has written The Positive Mindset Journal | Conquering the Stress of Self-Quarantine, a guided self-discovery journey with thought-provoking prompts and creative exercises to help see your life in a positive light. This journal can be found on Amazon.
