New Orleans oil painting: April 2020

Dear friends,

How are you doing? I hope you're feeling well and all is safe.

Here in New Orleans the situation is not looking great. Luckily I am still healthy and so are my immediate family members. But there are many, many people who are not so lucky, and I want to help, with your help.

It may be difficult for some of you to even think about helping others. With that in mind, below is what I'd like to present: please read on if you're in a position to help.

I have set up a Food For Friends campaign and studio sale here.

50% of all proceeds go to Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana, a non-profit with a long history of feeding those in need throughout Southern Louisiana. With the onset of COVID-19 they have expanded their already wide reaching operation to include feeding healthcare workers and first responders, service industry and gig workers (that's me), public school children, and practically anyone who needs to eat. They deliver meals door-to-door to seniors and disabled, and in addition to monetary donations, they're accepting fresh produce and non-perishable food, cleaning/sanitation supplies, and volunteers.

Many of the small oil paintings below were created as experiments (except for one that was made for a group show), and there may be minor irregularities in size and shape. Some have been on my website for a while with higher prices. All are in oil, and come in three different grounds: archival paper, canvas boards, or stretched canvas. Canvas boards I use are considered non-archival, although they will definitely last for our lifetime. All in all, the pieces are priced at minimum for this campaign.

Interested? Send me an email at kaorinola@gmail.com with Food For Friends in subject line. Please include the number & title of the piece you'd like to purchase, your full name, shipping address, and phone number in the body of your email. Then we will arrange payment and pickup/delivery/shipment. I will also send you a proof of donation.

Local pickup in uptown New Orleans is welcome and delivery is available within the greater New Orleans area. Domestic ground shipping is free. Please inquire about expedited or international shipping with extra fee.

If you're in New Orleans area and interested in my larger pieces on my website, please inquire to arrange a private, social-distanced viewing in person. And let me know of your preferred organizations in need of COVID-19 related donations. Unfortunately I cannot ship my larger pieces at this time.

Like many of you, I had to ask my parents to stay home and not go out unless it is absolutely necessary. Since they live in Japan I can not bring groceries to them, and they don't have a coordinated support like the one Second Harvest offers. If you have neighbors who are older or disabled, please check on them and say hello as much as you can. And please take care of yourselves and your community.

Best,

Kaori

oil on archival paper (unframed)