Painting in self-isolation

Even if tomorrow the world was coming to an end, today I would still paint.... 

(with apologies to Martin Luther: "... today I would still plant an apple tree")

I'm still in good health but as a senior citizen this week I decided to self-isolate. Still, yesterday I couldn't resist cycling through the quiet park to my Amsterdam studio, where the act of painting could sooth my soul in this time of crisis.

I grabbed an old piece of paper and without any pre-conceived notion began to improvise with watercolour and make some free marks with oil-pastels. Then the famous quote from Martin Luther somehow came to mind: "Even if I knew that tomorrow the world was coming to an end, today I would still l plant an apple tree". Well, I would still make a painting. 

Intuitively, I played the beautiful album by violinist Daniel Hope Escape to Paradise, works by European composers who fled the Nazis, to discover the new world of Hollywood and opportunities to compose film music. Music that became known as "the Hollywood Sound", but actually originated in Europe. Here's the Link. That often haunting but lovely music helped me escape the anxiety for whatever consequences the rapidly spreading virus hold for me.

Improvisation, 16th March 2020, 40 x 50 cm.

I don't know exactly what this small improvisation represents, but it came from a gut-level feeling. I leave the rest to your imagination. I'm sure there will be more to come. Visuals and music are wonderfully therapeutic. Just what we need right now.