Painting during COVID-19 pandemic
Seeking solace in party scenes helps ease isolation for local artist
The isolation brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic led some to seek solace in cooking or binging digital entertainment, but one local artist turned to painting lively party scenes to get through the solitude.
The resulting works of art by Carole Katchen will be on display today during Gallery Walk from 5 to 8 p.m. at Legacy Gallery.
“I’ve always enjoyed painting party scenes,” Katchen said. “When I moved to Hot Springs, I was really surprised at how dressed up everybody got, because I grew up in Colorado where everybody dresses casual and then I lived in L.A. for nine years and I’d expected them to be formal there, but they weren’t.
“And so then I moved to Hot Springs and went to some parties here, and social events, everybody here was dressed up. The women were so beautifully made up, their hair is always perfect, their outfits are always perfect. So I began painting these fabulous-looking women at parties. That was 26 years ago,” she said.
“Then, in the middle of the pandemic, when everybody’s crazy from being stuck at home, I decided to just start doing parties again. I just imagined people in a party environment,” Katchen said.
“Everybody has just been stuck at home. Not having a chance to even talk to real people. You know, talking on the phone only goes so far. Like everybody else, I’ve been missing seeing people. I’ve been in the studio and in my house pretty much for an entire year, and I’m lucky that I’ve got the second place to come to.”
The show at Legacy will feature nine new party paintings she created during the pandemic, five older party scenes, and numerous other paintings she did of chefs and winemakers.
Katchen will be in attendance for the show, which will be her first since the pandemic hit.
“This is going to be great fun,” she said, noting she has already had her COVID-19 vaccine shots. “So we don’t have to be quite so concerned about whether people are bringing the virus in with them,” she said.
The gallery, Katchen said, decided to reopen this month. “It’s really fun that it’s right now and the weather is getting nice. Lots and lots of people that I know have had their vaccines, so people are feeling a little freer about getting out,” she said.
In addition to missing people, Katchen said she has missed Gallery Walk. “It’s just so much fun to be able to be in public and have my paintings there and have people come by and see them and meet new people and talk to them about what I’m doing. And, of course, the money is wonderful.”
The last year has been rough for the local artists, she said, noting, “That’s been one of the things that has been really hard for artists here, is just being stuck with a sedentary market and trying to get by.”