This series is called “a Corona Six-Pack”, so named because it appeared with the beginnings of what used to be called Coronavirus which was later renamed Covid-19. A lot of things changed with the beginning of this new era, including my work. It was at this point that I realized that I was no longer an acrylic painter but an oil painter, that I was no longer an artist driven by obsessively controlled illustrative works, and that I finally let go of my self-imposed limitations on my abilities, in terms of size and skill. I had done one painting in oils before this series – it was a small photo-sized painting, only approximately 10 x 15 cm. It was also, and importantly, that at this point, I began stretching my own canvases. I have never purchased a ready-to-paint canvas to be used for oil paints.
This is a series because each painting represents one thing to me, difference perspectives each focused on one point of reference – revolution within myself. Pure drive to become something more.
Granted, thematically and superficially,these images don’t have much to do directly with each other, but they do relate to the paradigm of the time, when we all had to choose between many things. Do we want joy and celebration – happiness, or do we want control and limitation? Do we see life as a misery or a mystery? These are the issues that wer pulling these images out of me. From celebration to protest to priestesses and the mother of all that is, our answer is always present.
Done in oil on canvas, each measures 95×150 cm with 3 landscapes done in landscape-oriented format, and 3 portraits done in portrait-oriented format.
The Art of Gregory Evans 