Sandow Birk
The ‘USNHS MERCY’ Arriving in Los Angeles Harbor - March 27, 2020
2020
Acrylic on Canvas
22 x 44 inches
Since the Corona virus, I’ve been working on a series of small marine paintings for a show that I have scheduled in the fall. The images recall classic romantic maritime works, but most are sarcastic or metaphorical in some way. But when the hospital ship arrived in L.A. Harbor a couple of weeks ago, it seemed like an historic moment, or a moment when the seriousness of the pandemic came home. I can see the ship en route to my shared San Pedro studio, and I thought it would be fitting to paint the white ship as it arrived up LA harbor Main Channel on a hopeful dawn.