I have always enjoyed going for long walks through my neighborhood- no matter where I’ve lived- and my current neighborhood of Lansdowne, PA (on the outskirts of West Philadelphia), is no exception. I'm extremely fortunate to live in a community filled with beautiful old homes, many of which were built between 1890-1940. One day in late March 2020 during one of my long walks I decided that I wanted to make a few watercolor paintings of some of my favorite homes in the neighborhood, since I suddenly had some free time having been recently furloughed from my gig as a Scenic Artist for HBO. By the time I had finished the first four pieces in the series I was becoming obsessed with making as many as possible. I began to consider how the concept of "Home" was suddenly more significant than ever as our homes were quite literally at the centers of our lives. As I walked and observed, I would wonder who lived in each house and imagine what was happening inside. How many of these homes were currently serving as schools, offices, yoga studios, sanctuaries, or prisons? How has being home affected our relationship with our personal space?  How have our physical homes evolved over time while simultaneously ageing and updating? In so many ways, our homes are like organisms themselves, complete with their own personalities, charms, eccentricities, and secrets.

 

Over the course of the first year and a half of the pandemic, my concept continued to evolve in both breadth and depth. Between March of 2020 and August of 2021 I painted roughly 120 homes in and within walking distance of Lansdowne, PA, including a number of commission requests. These paintings serve both as portraits of a place and the backdrop of my experiences of a very specific time and place in history. Work on this series has sparked sincere interest and community engagement as well as an evolving consideration about the meaning and significance of “home.”  

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