My Art During Lockdown

It was a Saturday when I was at the barber having a hair cut when I received a message notifying me that Malta has its first COVID19 infected person. Like many others, I did not know how this pandemic will evolve and change our way of life. I kept on moving with my own normal life. The night before I did a sketch of a bull on my iPad and I liked the color wash I did use the watercolor brush effect. So on Saturday, after I finished my grooming, I went to the art supplies shop and bought my first watercolor set together with some brushes and cotton paper. This way I would test such effect the traditional way.

That week I started experimenting with this new medium. I was never a big fan of watercolor however I was going to give it a try. I was missing brushes since the place I’m currently living in has no space to put up my easel I normally use for oil and acrylic paintings. Therefore watercolors provided me a similar type of notion I normally enjoy while using oils. Initially, it was challenging to get the different shades and the feel of the brush is super soft.  I was determined to improve the skill so I watched numerous tutorials on YouTube and then practiced what I’ve learnt. I committed to myself that I will do a watercolor painting every day or else at least a sketch a day. While going through this process, the Covid19 situation got really serious and like most the rest of the island, I was locked in my apartment and suddenly shops were closed. I felt lucky that I bought my watercolor material before all this started.

My full-time job is a remote job therefore it did not affect my daily routine. As soon as I finish my daily job duties late afternoon, I immediately start sketching for watercolors. I experimented with color mixing and the drying process and analyzed the way the painting looked. So I had my daily routine in place. Work, paint, eat, and sleep. Unfortunately, I could not go out for walks like most people could do since I had a medical condition that required surgery and the surgery got postponed due to the C19 situation. Therefore I was locked in.

All news broadcasting was full of the negative and tragic news of how this pandemic was devastating wherever it reaches. I stayed away from such news by focusing on art. Art was my therapy. I isolated my mind from the rest of the world and locked it into my creative world. Deep down I did not feel that same passion I had when I used to do oil paintings. So I had some days where I shifted back to my digital drawings on my iPad.

I love figurative art and while I was researching for some inspiration online, I found a couple of pictures that I knew would help me improve painting shadows using watercolor. So I started painting figures practicing shadows using only one color, black. I tried several shades of greys and different brush strokes. Gradually I was finding my ground in watercolors. I finally found something that excited me and enjoyed painting it again. One of the advantages of watercolors is speed. Since I had my self set target of doing a painting a day, it was perfect. I started on my small sketchbook painting small figures. I moved to the bigger cotton paper once I felt confident that I can create good pieces.

I really enjoyed my lockdown. I never felt alone as I was with my painting and my colors. Every day I had a new objective, that of a new painting. I received good feedback when I was posting my paintings on social media. I even had people from France and the United States who sent me emails after they’ve seen my painting on Twitter and on my website. All this was very encouraging and gave me the confidence to do more.

Art was my companion during our partial lockdown. I never felt sad or frustrated. I actually felt motivated and helped me go through the new reality without any doubts. I did miss meeting my son and family and friends. Although we had our video calls, it is different than meeting face to face. It’s a different feel. I missed having a beer with my mates. But I forgot all this as soon as I got hold of my brushes and dived into my world.

I am always looking forward to my next painting and how engaging it is going to be. I love the process of planning the composition and posture of the subject figure. I find the human figure fascinating. I like observing people especially their facial features and expressions. When outside sitting on a bench, I observe the people around me, their movement, their style of clothes, and their gestures. When one really observes deeply another human being, one comes to the conclusion that everyone is beautiful. Every human being has amazing features that make him or her stand out from the rest and that is what makes us all unique. That is exactly what I try to capture and transmit in my paintings. 

This pandemic created a new reality for all of us. It actually provided us with a good reality check. We had ample time to sit down and look into the mirror and ask questions that we never had time to do so. It is important that one retrieves the positives from this experience and learn to live away from greed and appreciate more the basic needs. Art for me was a great companion during the period. If someone asks me how was my Covid19 lockdown, my reply will simply be “It was great”.

No Colours on Sunday

This is so weird. Many times I tried to paint or draw on Sundays. Mostly to stay away from crowds and chaos one finds in towns and cities. However, the majority of the time, I either block or else I will simply draw crappy stuff.

I get entangled between anger, frustration, and empty spaces. I will be lost. It will be as if I am in the middle of a desert or outer space where one is surrounded completely with nothing. I stand there alone staring. I hear this psychedelic instrumental music in mind. I close my eyes and simply drift onto the unknown. Different colours will be all over without any formal shapes or forms. They are simply splashed around me. That is the place where I detached from reality. 

A Manipulated World

Away from that part of the world that is dominated by greed and manipulative media. That world where it is OK to break the law, It is OK to suffocate minorities, it is OK to destroy forests, it is ok to kill animal species, it is OK for racial hatred.

Thankfully my art is my refuge. It keeps me away from this chaos. It is my gateway to freedom. It temporarily removes the chains that the System imposed on me as a grew along. Art provides me the purpose to unchain.

Purpose

I thought that this COVID-19 pandemic experience will wake up a new wave of hope for a more just world, for a greener planet, for cleaner oceans, less greed. However, the first signs do not look good. Seems like humanity wants to go back to what it knows best. Art should serve the purpose to awaken and support movements against this crazy way of life. Any form of art should embark and spark a new revolt. Creative artists must do their part. We cannot shy away anymore from what surrounds us. 

I need to stop trying to paint or draw on Sundays. It must be my rest day. Will I manage? I do not know. I am not the type who gives up easily. I normally fight my demons. Will see how it evolves. For now, I am going to put on my headphones and listen to some inspiring music and drift away to another world where everything is still pure and uncontaminated.

Jose’ Micallef

Sunday 7th June 2020

Art for Sanity

The past 3 months were like I was living in one of Salvador Dali’s paintings. Empty roads, empty schools, empty malls, empty airports. It was surreal. It took me a while to comprehend what was going on. Who would have imagined that the whole planet would come at a standstill?

Like many, I observed the health authorities’ recommendation and complied with a self lock-down in my apartment on my own. I knew that this was going to be a challenge. At first, I thought that this was going to be only a two-week task but then it was very clear that it will take much longer than that. 

Fantastic Journey

There was no single day or moment during this lockdown that I felt lonely or sad or annoyed. I created the best company I could have had. I imposed on my self the daily routine to sketch or paint anything. I discovered new media like watercolor and ink. As days went by, I’ve seen progress in my new technique and was getting good reviews on social media. I was always looking forward to my next painting, my next inspiration. I mainly painted people, from young to old. The human figure was always my favorite subject irrespective of the medium I’ll use.

There were moments where I was thinking of what I would have done should I did not paint. Would I have gone nuts? Would I be bored? Knowing me, I would have kept myself busy anyways however, the fact that I kept myself busy with my passion was a very healthy move to my sanity. I was positive all the way. COVID-19 was a blessing in disguise. It was great. I loved every day that passed by. I created so much that I had to create a new section on my website for my watercolor and ink paintings.

I was safe

My creativity kept me away from the fear that was constantly being showered on us by the media in general. I was aware of what was going on in my country and around the world but I did not let the news affect me. My art was my buffer. My art was my refuge. My art was a safe place. My art kept me sane.

Jose’ Micallef

June 2020

Artists that I admire - Modigliani

Here is a first of a serious of articles I’ll be writing about artists that I admire. About artists who somehow touched me and influenced me. 

Where we met

I bumped into Amadeo Modigliani’s painting by chance. I recall a couple of decades ago, I was reading a book about Pablo Picasso and there I’ve seen his name for the first time. Since he was a new name for me, I searched him out. The first painting I’ve seen that really impressed was the portrait of Lucia Czechovska. The elongated face resting on a long neck. Very simple but subtle. Not too many colors but enough to capture the lines. Then I kept on going through his rich portfolio. I got hooked. I managed to see some of his work in Milano a few years back. It was a very emotional moment for me. Yes, I admit I cried. Only two other artists have such an effect on me - Vincent van Gogh and Lucien Freud.

His paintings were all of the singular persons. No crowds or couples. He created his own style at the time where a revolution was taking place in the art world. While Picasso was breaking every rule of the then traditional art, Modi, as he was commonly known, brought his Italian influence and merged it with primitive African art. One can also find African influence in Picasso’s works but Modi gave it his imprint and created works that soothed better the eyes and less aggressive than Picasso.

In his short presence on this planet, Modi managed to leave his mark in the art world. He followed his passion and move to Paris as he knew that Paris was the center of creativity and also the center of entertainment. He mingled with other artists of the time and gradually created his individual style. He was not shy of controversy. He wanted to be himself and he painted what he saw within him at the moment. I love his blues like that in The Little Peasant and also the terracotta backgrounds like that in the piece called The Artist’s Wife. Then there was Jeanne, the love of his life who supported him an inspired him in many ways.

His Legacy

His bohemian life was not a healthy one with alcohol and drugs. I am not sure if such substances induced hallucinations that led to his masterpieces. But he was a master of his own world. A master of his passion. Tuberculosis took away his life early. Who knows how many more works would he have painted should he lived a longer life like Picasso or Matisse? His life did not end with his death. It only ended when Jeanne joined him a few days later after his death when she took away her life as she could not bear her life without him. 

He lived a tragic life but he is definitely still alive in his works.

When all colours go black

There are moments where I am scared of the paint brush. Moments where I do not know what to do with the colours, how to mix them. My mind simply goes boom. Nothing is connected inside my brain. I lose all sense of making art. I stare at an empty white canvas without any reaction. I feel soul less.

Many times I forced myself to sketch and paint during this black period but I create only garbage. I feel like I am a toddler get hold of the pencil for the first time in his life. The feeling is devastating. There were times where I thought that I lost it. That I cannot paint or draw anymore. I despair. What will happen of me should I stop painting? Who will I be?

I do go through these moments. Sometimes it’s only days but other times they take weeks even months. I cannot say they are happy days. I simply exist. It is very frustrating but now I know that the colours will eventually come back. So I’ve learnt not to fight it. I simply let it be until that moment where I am friends again with my paint brushes. I see the reds, the blues, the greens, the yellows, the greys. I don’t care what medium I use. As long as I create, I’m fine. I’m in the right place. I’m in my world of colours.