Cub Island Series, 2022-2023

The Cub Island series came to be at the end of the intense phase of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2022.

Painting was a balm during 2020-2021. In the Fall of 2022 I was not inspired by still lives or landscapes. I began to paint large Lego blocks, Duplos, in Samuel Gareginyan’s course at the MFA, Boston in an attempt to get back to basics. I thought I would focus on straightforward shapes, colors, shadows and whatever configurations I dropped them in to.

After the second formal painting (not shown) I noticed narratives in the compositions. I remembered hours and hours spent playing Duplo with my older child, constructing worlds and stories with these same blocks. These were happy memories. The pandemic and adolescence had left my children, 21 and 17, adrift.

Creating a narrative that reflected my perception of their experiences took precedence, and I arranged the blocks in precarious configurations. Using a reflective surface as a base enhanced the floating quality I was looking for. Familiarity may invite you in. Discomfort may soon arise, and I hope it does, as it had for my children.

Calm? Oil on canvas board. 8x11.