Painting Loss and Hope

In dark times, do you paint loss or hope? As I did this painting of people together for a meal, I thought of our friends who usually gather around our table every week. It's hard to imagine them at my door again, hugging and laughing. That will be wonderful. In painting Bear Mountain, I claim hope.

But I must also name my present reality. I have my family with me, but I feel cut off from so many friends who are completely alone in small New York apartments and large empty Oakland homes. I also feel helpless. I usually take pride in getting up early and crossing things off my lists. Now it's a time of waiting, reading, praying, being. I watch the oars bob and float in the water.