Painting in Isolation

      How often have creative types wished for a time of isolation with no distractions and only endless days to paint, write, or compose?   It is also said to be careful of what you wish in case it manifests.  Alone with time to do nothing but paint I found myself as human as anyone else floating disoriented in a scary new world and glued to news on the TV screen. It took some time before I realized "normal" was not going to return immediately and when it did it would be a "new normal". A bit daunting but over the weeks I adjusted to these new circumstances .
     With most art events cancelled, a population in isolation and a crashed economy it  has been a time for many in the arts to pause and reevaluate.. What motivates me as a human, as a creative being and what emeges from a time that seems collectively to have touched us all?  Respecting my fear I started painting again. I started small and only brought out three small unfinished paintings I thought I could complete each day. Just painting was what mattered. I pulled out unfinished paintings, I threw stuff out, then started new. My space started looking messier and more cluttered. No one to come in and see how chaotic it was and no judgment except my own. My fluffy dog was shedding her winter coat badly but dog groomers were closed. Her fine dog hair floated and collected in corners. Paintings  were piled up on tables and along walls.  Walking into my house from a socially distanced walk one day I noticed that my house looked like a true artist's abode. It felt satisfying. To create in isolation with no feedback of peers, or a public. Interesting.

I soon noticed however there was still the internet and artists were wasting no time reinventing themselves. I'm learning zoom. I'm learning to teach using zoom.  We are social beings,
There are still ways to connect.

I don't know how the "new normal" will develp but being human there is always hope.