I am not so very sad about having to stay home for the Coronavirus. I am a natural introvert, homebody, and basically live all the time with half my brain in a natural state of oblivion. If you’re a daydreamer, you know what I mean. I was built for this. I’m not going to say I’m happy about it, but I could certainly say I’m not so very sad. That state of oblivion is where the creative ideas live.

This pandemic, however, did coincide with my family and I living in a little one bedroom apartment while our house is being re-built (follow me @theaccidentalbuilder for more on that). I actually used to get more alone, quiet time before all this happened, but the house re-build had been sucking up all of my creative energy (and regular energy). Now that it’s on pause, I have been able to fill my time with paints and paper again. Although not alone. In this house, one is never alone. Aaaanyway, I’m working on a project I had set aside - a portrait of my niece Maggie. I had been unable to tackle it with the house project looming over me, so with the house build on pause I got back into it. I haven’t worked on a portrait at all this past year. I really enjoy portraits, although the way I do them is way less loosey-goosey and instantaneous/immediate than my usual encaustic wax paintings. I get into the strict, controlled nature of the work (or at least of my process).