023 / Pandemic Artwork Stories
12/1/2020
023 / pandemic artwork stories
WITH CAROL BERNING
Where are you painting from and what have you been doing to keep busy?
I’m painting from my home on a small farm in Middle Tennessee. I love to paint en plein air, so I have plenty of opportunity and space to do that as often as I have time or feel the urge. I’m also the caregiver for my 95-year-old mother, so I am always busy. My husband and I have three dogs, a cat, and some 65 or so chickens. So backyard chickens, pets, woods, and pastures give me all sorts of inspiration for paintings.
How did you find inspiration from your surroundings for it?
I’ve been caring for my mother since my father died four years ago. Even before then, I often drew sketches, did oil studies, and pastel paintings of both of them. I always struggle to get a good likeness of Mother—is it because I know her so well? Some works I’ve completed from life as she naps or as she sits for me, perhaps working on a quilt block while she poses. I painted this piece from life and continued to work on it during a few later sessions, correcting the likeness, the light, the values. She loves to be outdoors, so I wanted to give it an outdoor feel, especially with the light on her face.
What is one positive that has come from this experience for you?
Oh, there have been so many that it’s hard to say! I suppose the greatest positive is being inspired by all of the stories that accompany the pieces in the collection. I have been introduced to artists I didn’t know; I have been touched by their views of their world and their response to COVID-19.
What is one of your favorite pieces in the collection from a fellow artist?
Learn more about Carol's artwork and story here.