Adrienne DeLoe - "Pandemic Self Portraits: Adrienne, Adrienne 2, Ava Truckey, Caige Coulter, and Carole Goodwin"

Adrienne DeLoe

Creator of Pandemic Self Portraits

Wheat Ridge, Colorado

When we were first quarantined and the state shut down, everything felt so surreal. It’s not that I didn’t see this coming or was surprised when it got here, but the actual experience of it was jarring. Being pulled out of one reality and into another is like nothing I have ever experienced before. With my husband laid off and my jewelry business dwindling down to nothing, I am facing more uncertainty than ever before.

 

My energy, creativity and inspiration were suddenly gone. My solo art show was canceled. The art I had been making started to feel futile. I found myself spending hours reading grim news stories and spiraling down the endless hole that is social media. I was obsessed with seeing what people were posting, desperate to get any shred of new information. People were expressing deeply dividing views on how the government and individuals should be behaving during the pandemic. I started to desperately wish that there was something I could do to help but was at a loss as to what I could possibly do.

 

I was feeling like making work about the pandemic was the most relevant artistic expression for the moment. With all of us so isolated, I thought that the most easily accessible subject matter was myself. It is the nature of isolation to be highly introspective. I had the idea to do a self-portrait, something totally outside of the type of work I usually do. It felt good to document myself and what I was going through. I quickly had the idea that others might want to share their images and stories as well.

 

I asked around in my community of fellow artists to get a sense of if there was any interest in my idea. There definitely was! I started doing some research on Instagram to see if anyone else was doing this type of work. There were so many quarantine self-portraits out there! I started Facebook and Instagram pages with the title Pandemic Self-Portraits. I began reaching out to people and within 2 days, I was getting submissions from all over the world. After 2 weeks, I had incredible images and stories pouring in and over 100 posts on social media. The response and quality of work has been beyond anything I could have imagined.

 

This project brought me out of a place of fear and worry and back into the present moment. Connecting with people from around the world who are all going through the same things has created a deep sense of unity and hope. I am in awe of people’s willingness to share their stories. Participants are telling their stories with honesty, bravery, vulnerability and humor. This project has taught me to look at the pandemic not as a catastrophe, but rather an opportunity to be better people, to connect on a deeper level and to better take care of ourselves and each other.

Breathing Apparatus
Since the pandemic began and I started Pandemic Self Portraits, my art practice has definitely shifted. My work has always been about environmental issues and while this is a topic that is still incredibly important, artwork dealing with the virus felt more pressing. As I shifted gears a bit, a whole new realm of creativity opened up for me. I believe that there are many silver linings happening during this pandemic and this is one of mine.


I am so thankful that I have been able to bring people together through art and experience through this project. So many of you have reached out to tell me that seeing people’s work and stories has helped them to feel less alone. So many if you have expressed that art has saved you during this time of isolation. I feel the same way.

Ava Truckey

Denver, Colorado

When I was pregnant, and it was cool, it was easier to feel less weight of the pandemic. I busied myself, I nested. I cooked, I immersed myself in tedious baking projects, I prepped my garden beds, I started seeds in the kitchen window. I kept my three-year-old close, and welcomed the opportunity, the privilege, to go inward, to keep my daughter close, and to grow new life. By the time Maddox was born in mid-July, it was oppressively hot, and the novelty had worn off. I was proud of both of us for my labor, I wanted to share him with everyone. I wanted to be held by my best friend, I wanted her to hold my baby. My loneliness was magnified once he arrived. Birthing him during a pandemic was like harboring a secret I didn’t want to keep.

Caige Coulter

Age 12

Los Angeles, California

I call this Broken Hearted because all my hopes and dreams for this year were swept out from under me. I had so many expectations for this year and all were lost, my heart was … broken. I could not go on trips this summer, I could not hang out with my friends, I could not go to my local water park, I could not go to any state fairs, I could not go see movies, I could not go to dance class, I could not enjoy a true year, I could not have sleepovers, I could not go to stores, I could not play with the local kids in the neighborhood, and I could not be a normal kid. I feel so bad for all the other kids around the world who are broken hearted just like me.

Carole Goodwin

Denver, Colorado

Self-Portrait of the Artist at 64

I started getting vibes towards the end of February that my husband and I would have to self-quarantine and we needed to stock up on supplies. In early March we finished gathering and started hunkering down before the stay-at-home mandates were placed. At first it felt not much different than our normal lives.

 

Staying at home was fine. What wasn’t fine was staying at home with my bipolar self, trapped in my head with my racing thoughts. High risk for not living through a Covid-19 infection, I spent the first two months dealing with basic survival. I wasn’t making the best art of my life in wildly euphoric moments. I wasn’t invited to a bunch of zoom socially distant hug fests. I was isolated with my husband (also high-risk) and my bipolar thoughts and moods went quickly into rapid cycling mode. Alternating between extreme anger and depression for hours and weeks on end was just my life for a while.

 

I take selfies from time to time that I often use in future projects and I like to go back and see my moods. I’ve always wanted to paint a self-portrait and so far, haven’t. My paintings aren’t happy and pretty. This makes me look older than I really am. It shows my wonky eye. It captures my depressive mood and emotions. I actually love it and I often hate most of my stuff.

Viral Influence: Collective Conscious Salon Installation
  1. Patricia Aaron - "Solitude"
  2. Sylvie Abecassis - "Quarenteenietown"
  3. Zoa Ace - "Spellbound" and "Mystical Matinee"
  4. Josh Aiman - "Quarantine Companions "
  5. Roy Anneberg - "Pandemonic Rupture"
  6. Alicia Bailey - "Stray Birds Five"
  7. Tina Bailey - "Baglafecht Weaver, Tanzania"
  8. Jane Banzhaf - "The Mask Maker"
  9. Christi Beckmann - "Patchwork Quarantine"
  10. Kaylee Bender - "The Man and His Book"
  11. Clarice Benz - "Skin and Sensory 1"
  12. Brendt Berger - "Corona at Large, a series (1, 7, 9, 15, 18)
  13. PJ Bergin - ""Let Your Mind Wander No. 3," "Let Your Mind Dance No. 4," and "Let Your Mind Wander No. 2"
  14. Jessica Bernstein-Schiano - "Corona Cut No. 26: Are We Flattening the Curve?" "Corona Cut No. 2: Renew" and "Corona Cut No. 204: The ice is bluer on the other side"
  15. Penney Bidwell - "Looming," "Inception," and "Hero"
  16. Stephanie Block - "Human. An experience."
  17. Jennie Boucneau - "How Many Days Have I Been Inside?"
  18. Karen Breunig - "Viral Painting," "Pandemic Painting," "Orbiting," and "Girls at the Pool"
  19. Jovan Brock - "Untitled " and "Black Stamp"
  20. Teresa Brooks - "Tightly Wound" and "Upward"
  21. Richard Buchanan - "Gateway"
  22. Elizabeth Buhr - "Blue Lion" and "Handshake"
  23. Lisa Calzavara - "C19 5-24-2020" and "C19 10-30-2020 "
  24. Judy Campbell - "Lakewood"
  25. John Carlson - "Stay Home #1," "Wash 'em," and "World Tour 2020"
  26. Sandra Jean Ceas - "Shield of Faith"
  27. Taiko Chandler - "Untitled #1"
  28. Tif Choate - "JoJoe"
  29. Anne Clark - "Smoke Corona"
  30. Joyce Coco - "Stay at Home" and "Safer At Home"
  31. Susan Cooper - "Finding My Sea" and "Get out of NYC"
  32. Brian D'Agosta - "Plague 1"
  33. Sandra Dalton - "Everything Comes Back in Style"
  34. Adrienne DeLoe - "Pandemic Self Portraits: Adrienne, Adrienne 2, Ava Truckey, Caige Coulter, and Carole Goodwin"
  35. Adrienne DeLoe - "Pandemic Self Portraits: Caroline Chinakwe, Caroline Lacoma, Ceceli Vanzyl, Chelsea America, and Diana Ammann"
  36. Adrienne DeLoe - "Pandemic Self Portraits: Divine Jinn, Duane Paul, Fabrizio Bagnoli, Fenix Moon, and Jasmine"
  37. Adrienne DeLoe - "Pandemic Self Portraits: Joe Smith, Kasturi Balkrishna, Keirsten Read, Laura Greenway, Lindsay"
  38. Adrienne DeLoe - "Pandemic Self Portraits: Mike Jacobs, Naa Adjeley, Regina Schmidt, Samuel Dunson, and Siyanda"
  39. Adrienne DeLoe - "Pandemic Self Portraits: Tameca L Coleman, Tracey Anderson, Vanessa Fero, Yann Le Crouhennec, and Yeter Beriş"
  40. Leah Dennison - "The Everything"
  41. Elizabeth Earhart - "Isolation"
  42. Patricia J Finley - "Cri de Coeur"
  43. David Fodel - "Supply Chain: Vertical Integration"
  44. Jan Fordyce - "Quarantine Blues"
  45. Kay Galvan - "Gaining Familiarity"
  46. Judy Gardner - "Glory Days," "Pomegranates," and "Soleil"
  47. Andrea Gordon - "Doing Better 2"
  48. Linda Graham - "Arrange/Rearrange 2020"
  49. Linda Graham - "Sharp Angles"
  50. Grace Gutierrez - "Adam (2)" and "It's Just Us"
  51. Mandy Hansen - "Doodle Blot 1," "Doodle Blot 5," "Doodle Blot 6," "Doodle Blot 8," "Doodle Blot 9"
  52. Jodie Herrera - "Honor Those"
  53. Austin Howlett - "Missing Pieces"
  54. Sara Howsam - "Pandemic/ Covid Spring"
  55. Ryan Hughes - "Take it off the map "
  56. Julie Jablonski - "Holding On," "8 PM," and "The Little Prince"
  57. Nolan Johnson - "Mania"
  58. Emma Johnstone - "Current Mood"
  59. Ashton Lacy Jones - "Forsaken"
  60. Mike Keene - "Blue Birds of Bear Creek Valley"
  61. Anthony Knight - "Quarantine Trio-Jack & Coke and cable T.V."
  62. Mickey LaFave - "Covid-19"
  63. Leona Lazar - "6'"
  64. Julie Leidel - "See Me"
  65. Gayla Lemke - "Tired of Winning" and "Landscape in the Time of COVID-19: No. 7"
  66. Becky Lenhart - "Isolation"
  67. Daniel Levinson - "Tangled In Time"
  68. Patricia Barry Levy - "SeedSaver#3"
  69. Bonny Lhotka - "Looking OUT"
  70. Amy Lorenz - "Lunar Lilies "
  71. Greg Matheny - "Stage 5 Isolation"
  72. Chuck McCoy - "Catch"
  73. Molly McCrosson - "Vortex to Heaven"
  74. El Meek - "Alex (They/Them)"
  75. Tom Megalis - "Torn Apart" and "Distancing "
  76. Stan Meyer - "Clothes Line Art Show"
  77. Keri Mills - "Shattering Ceilings"
  78. Ellen Moershel - "Environment"
  79. Michael Morris - "The Maddening Cloud"
  80. Grace Morris - "Bernd and Hilla Becher" and "Drained"
  81. Pat Morrow - "Together"
  82. Pat Morrow - "Climate Change"
  83. Pat Morrow - "Same But Different"
  84. Isabel Munson - "Stay Home"
  85. Joe Murray - "Portrait of a Pandemic"
  86. Gregory Nelson - "Heart of the Nation"
  87. Christine Nguyen - "Stars and Constellations 4- 2020" and "Stars and Constellations 3- 2020"
  88. Jonathan Nicklow - "Ribbet" and "The Enchantment"
  89. Lynette O'Kane - "B R E A T H E "
  90. Marty Odermann - "Cacophony of Covid"
  91. Cipriano Ortega - "Jizz Jazz "
  92. Tony Ortega - "Social Distancing and Sheltering in Place"
  93. Tony Ortega - "I Can't Breathe"
  94. Tony Ortega - "Susto"
  95. Christine Parker - "Color Proof" and "Canyon of Heroes"
  96. Adam Peery - "Can we go outside yet?" "Quarantined," and "Baking with Grandma"
  97. Erik Pendergraft - "A Walk in the Park"
  98. Mariana Pereira Vieira - "Touching #1," "Touching #2," and "Touching #22"
  99. Karen Poulson - "Fragmentation" and "Opposing Forces"
  100. Benjamin Powell - "Crisis"
  101. Connie Quigg - "Social Distancing on the Davidson Mesa" and "First Face Mask Walk on the Mesa - Recovery Art 14"
  102. Helen Ragheb - "Bananas (Stacked series #5)" and "Untitled (Stacked series #6)"
  103. Roger Rapp - "Crown"
  104. Louis Recchia - "How Now?" and "Bystander"
  105. Gary Reed - "TBD #2" and "TBD #3"
  106. Lydia Riegle - "No Limits, No Boundaries II"
  107. Lydia Riegle - "Silver Linings"
  108. Stacey Roberts - "In These Uncertain Times"
  109. Kim Roberts - "Metamorphosis (adjustment?)"
  110. Sara Rockinger - "Covid in the Garden of Good and Evil"
  111. Mike Roderique - "COVID-19 Self-Portrait in Denver while Walking my Dog"
  112. Pam Rogers - "Lockdown," "Hiding Under Rocks," and "May 2020: Amidst the Storm"
  113. Deb Rosenbaum - "Better Days to Come!" "Strung Out" and "Social Distance: Dressing for Spring"
  114. Claudia Roulier - "The Watcher"
  115. Susan Samol - "Living In The Time of Corona Virus"
  116. Brian Sartor - "All of My Days"
  117. Justin Schaffer - "Six Feet"
  118. Becky Enabnit Silver - "Covid Monster" and "Emerging"
  119. Sue Simon - "Inside Out -Happiness Inside-Uncertainty Outside" and "Inside Out -Bright Inside-Ominous Outside"
  120. Paul Sisson - "Untitled (March 13, 2020)" and " Untitled 16 (March 13, 2020)"
  121. Kate Sladen - "Facepalm"
  122. Katharine Smith-Warren - "Mended Shirt"
  123. Maddie Sturm - "Father Daughter"
  124. Hannah Sutton Stoll - "Good Company"
  125. Hannah Sutton Stoll - "The Strongest Shape"
  126. Hannah Sutton Stoll - "West on Fire: I"
  127. Virginia Unseld - "Navigations"
  128. Virginia Unseld - "Celestial Navigation"
  129. Clark Valentine - "Untitled (Continuous Line Composition 3)"
  130. Cory Van Zytveld - "Wedding Dress"
  131. Travis Vermilye - "Coronavirus 002"
  132. Rob Watt - "Sad Spring"
  133. Anduriel Widmark - "Slow Spread Red"
  134. DL Winn - "Darkness Visible"
  135. Loretta Young-Gautier - "Sleepwalking," "Room with at View," and "Night Sweats"