024 / Pandemic Artwork Stories

12/8/2020

024 / pandemic artwork stories

WITH DIANE LARSON

Where are you painting from and what have you been doing to keep busy?

I’m a full time artist painting from my home studio in Raleigh, North Carolina, so keeping busy has never been difficult for me. Usually I’m in my studio by 9AM after a nice walk and I stay there painting until four every day (and by every day I mean seven days a week). I didn’t think isolation would be hard at first, but after several months, I’m finding it has become much more difficult to be so isolated.

How did you find inspiration from your surroundings for it?

The inspiration for my piece in the collection didn’t come from my surroundings. It came from my longing to be near the ocean. I had just returned home from the American Society of Marine Artists conference in Williamsburg, Virginia the first week in March and I went straight into lockdown mode. The trip I had planned to the beach later that month had to be canceled. Most of my work is based on my 40+ years sailing in the Pacific, the Atlantic and the Caribbean. The ocean is where I find comfort and inspiration.

“Let’s Dance” was my way of dealing with confinement.

What is one positive that has come from this experience for you?

I guess it would be just having more time to explore some new ideas and rearrange my studio/gallery.

What is one of your favorite pieces in the collection from a fellow artist?

There are so many great ones but Pat Gamby’s egg tempura piece “Seize the Day” really spoke to me. I can feel the loneliness and isolation when I look at it. I think we are all experiencing some of these feelings during this very strange time in history.

Learn more about Diane's artwork and story here.