A quarantine painting from friend in Italy

[John K Jordan]

A friend of ours in Italy is an art student. While in lock-down and between on-line school work and studying she has been playing the piano and painting.

Today she sent a picture of this oil painting she just finished. I thought it captured the times.

https://sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=429832&d=1586401775
Oil on canvas by Ari Nonis

Everyone in their area in Northern Italy has been confined to their home for well over a month now, only able to go out for groceries, pharmacy, or for critical work. The police stop people on the street to check their papers.

JKJ

[Ken Fitzgerald]

A friend of ours in Italy is an art student. While in lock-down and between on-line school work and studying she has been playing the piano and painting.

Today she sent a picture of this oil painting she just finished. I thought it captured the times.

https://sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=429832&d=1586401775
Oil on canvas by Ari Nonis

Everyone in their area in Northern Italy has been confined to their home for well over a month now, only able to go out for groceries, pharmacy, or for critical work. The police stop people on the street to check their papers.

JKJ

Indeed, it did capture the times!

[Frederick Skelly]

She does nice work John. Is it a self portrait?

[Frank Pratt]

I really like that painting. Can you talk her into giving you the original? :)

[Howard Pollack]

Quite an extraordinarily expressive painting! It evokes paintings I saw in the museums in Italy. Thanks for posting it. -Howard

[John K Jordan]

She does nice work John. Is it a self portrait?

She didn't say but to my wife and I and other friends here it looks like her eyes and the way she now often parts her hair in the middle.

I'll have to ask. Here are some face pictures of thousands of photos taken in Italy and USA. What do you think, could it be a self portrait?

429850

429851

429860

429852

429853

429855

429859

JKJ

[Michael Weber]

I'm saying yes based on 4th picture from the last.

[John K Jordan]

I really like that painting. Can you talk her into giving you the original? :)

I suggested she contact TV, newpapers and internet news and perhaps a museum later (when the museums are open again). She's a budding artist and I don't think she's thought about selling her work, but if she does offer that one I want to bid on it!

She did send me a high resolution file from which I printed 8x10s to frame and put on our wall and give to some friends she made while staying here.

Even art students seem to have trouble getting certain art supplies there. When visiting I pulled a Sharpie from my backpack and you should have heard the commotion: Sharpie! Sharpie! The girl had tried unsuccessfully to find one for months and there I was carrying a stash! For her birthday we ordered sets of black and colored sharpies and had them shipped. There is not even large art supply stores in that area of Northern Italy so we visit stores when they come here (this is the second young artist we've hosted) and pack supplies in their suitcases to take home, watercolor brush pens, sets of fine line black pigment pens, temporary tattoo kits, paper, sketchbooks. One girl came with her prized possession, a SINGLE Faber Castell PITT artists pen, so well used all the markings were worn off the outside. A quick log-on to Amazon and two days later she had a variety of sizes to take back. These visitors were even awed by the overwhelming options in every Walmart store - shopping for something one girl said she was lucky in Italy to find ONE of what she needed and there on the shelf in Walmart were a dozen varieties and sizes.

We are so spoiled by the vast access to resources unobtainable in some places. That's just one thing my eyes have been opened to in our travels. Other things are the richness of culture, the overwhelming friendliness and selflessness, how the young respect the elderly, and the healthy lifestyles - in all the places I've visited in Europe over the years the only overweight people I remember were tourists from the US. :(

JKJ

[Frank Pratt]

I think it's a self portrait, or at least inspired by.

John, I so agree with you about the travel experiences. I've not traveled that extensively, but Italy is probably my favorite. It breaks my heart what they're going through now.

[Mel Fulks]

Good Idea, John ! Now the lines won't be so long to see that "smile"...which is really just new dentures.

[Frederick Skelly]

Sure looks like one John!

[Andrew Gibson]

The composition of the photo is also quite nice. Thanks for sharing!

[Ronald Blue]

Very nicely done indeed. She definitely has a natural talent for painting. It's so alive and such detail!