Cafe Terrace at COVID Capacity
Mask Gleaners
The COVID Nightmare
Art Technique: Charcoal on Canvas Drawings
Artist Statement
Almost overnight, COVID-19 had changed the way people interact with each other and with our own bodies. We lived our lives in vulnerability during that historically significant time of disaster. The initial phases of the pandemic are behind us, but the virus remains and continues to be dangerous. The societal trauma this pandemic has caused will be remembered and felt by those who have lived through it for the foreseeable future.
In the past, master painters would depict historically significant disasters that happened to them as a way to cope. Artists of the 19th century depicted hardships and trauma in the wake of the Industrial Revolution, which began the formation of our modern world. As an artist learning the techniques of masters, Donald Patten has the opportunity to create long-lasting visual information that depicts the trauma of this pandemic.
Therefore, Patten has created a series of drawings that represent his experiences in modern COVID life by drawing inspiration from past masterpieces that depict the embodied experience of trauma.
Donald Patten (he/him) is an artist and cartoonist from Belfast, Maine. He creates oil paintings, illustrations, ceramics, and graphic novels. His art has been exhibited in galleries throughout Maine.
Instagram – Art Portfolio: @donald.patten