I was feeling down about, well, everything in early April, so I decided to put together a costume  and have my partner take some reference photos of me in Green-Wood Cemetery (in Brooklyn) on Easter. The femmy-ness of the outfit, including a matching face mask, paired with girly poses with gravestones in the background is deeply funny to me. I wanted to bring a little levity our current state of being, and to amuse myself, so I started working on this series of ink and watercolor paintings.

When I could finally make art again during this pandemic quarantining, I decided I needed to make something different from what I had been making previously. Green-Wood Cemetery is right near my apartment, but the entrance  near us is usually only open on weekends. Because of quarantine, they decided to open all the gates 7 days a week till 7pm, and it has significantly changed the quality of my life. A walk in the cemetery during the pandemic while it was drizzling seemed like the most (Edward) Gorey thing ever, so I decided to to some ink drawings in a Gorey-esque style based on my walks there. I find all the hatching to be meditative.

I sent out these hand painted Valentine’s to some special art directors a few years ago. I even made special envelopes! And it’s an easy recipe, a real crowd pleaser and it’s vegan and gluten free so most everyone can eat it.