Doodles During Pandemic
With plenty of time and nowhere to go, a lot can happen inside an artist’s studio. Annapolis artist Cindy Fletcher Holden began with simply organizing her studio space. She soon discovered a way she could feel useful as an artist during the pandemic.
Holden discovered a shelf full of boxes of glossy photo paper so she began experimenting with ink brush pens. She calls them “doodles” and so far, they have included Chesapeake Bay landscapes and botanical images.
After some well-received reactions to the ones she posted on Facebook, she knew what she wanted to do during her stay-at-home period.
“I decided to sell them for whatever anyone could spend, starting at $10 a piece, and then give 100% to charity,” she said. She started with the Downtown Annapolis Partnership, and the project has taken off.
“I’ve sold 20 so far and making more so I can post them on Facebook to keep the momentum going. They sell pretty fast,” Holden says.
With plenty of time and lots of paper to fill, she began running out of ink. So, Art Things in West Annapolis donated more pens for her cause.
Holden says she was saddened to see so many people out of work in her hometown. “Along with restaurant, bar and store owners and employees, there are artists whose works are in closed galleries, musicians who can’t play gigs, and independent contractors who are unable to do a variety of skills,” she says. “Downtown Annapolis Partnership seemed a fitting organization in which to give as one of its missions is to sustain local businesses as well as much more.”
Holden says she hasn’t raised a lot of money yet, simply because she wanted to set her prices low enough to entice a buyer. “It’s kind of tough to ask people to give money when they are out of work. I haven’t been putting a price on them, I just tell folks to give what they can, starting at $10 each. Most have sold for more than that.”
For more information: [email protected] or visit www.fletcherart.net.