Reed Magazine

I’m excited to announce that my COVID-themed painting, “Lavender and Coffee,” has been chosen as featured web content for the Reed Magazine website for the Spring 2022 Issue 155. They received a record-breaking number of submissions this year and it’s a thrill to have made the cut. The issue will be released in May 2022, and I’ll post on social media when it comes out. You can check Reed Magazine out here https://www.reedmag.org/.

About “Lavender and Coffee”

This painting was created in the summer of 2020, after the coronavirus pandemic had first put the world into lockdown. I was slowly coming to accept that new ways to safely interact were our new normal. The beauty of the large clumps of lavender growing in my neighbor’s front yard had long entranced me. In May of 2020, I began to notice that he was using his driveway as an informal coffee shop, decorated by fragrant lavender. A person, friend or relative, would arrive with coffee and they set up their safe zone. Neighbors wandered by, stopping to chat. It was unsettling that it was necessary, and yet beautiful to witness. This painting is a tribute to our ability to make the best of our situation, enjoying our wonderful city of San Jose, the people living here, and our balmy, temperate climate.

The painting is for sale and currently showing at KALEID Gallery on South First Street in San Jose. A print of this painting was shown at the Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport in conjunction with the City of San José’s Public Art Program in December 2020 and January 2021. The print is high quality, 36×24 inches on styrene, and I have it for sale in my art studio and online in my art store. If you’re interested in owning something to commemorate the beautiful things that happened during the pandemic, this may be just what you’re looking for.