When COVID-19 came to the United States in March 2020, two of my primary channels of expression — writing for a weekly newspaper and performing with VO5 — slammed shut. Like everyone, I didn’t know what was coming, or how long it would last. Without those public outlets, I looked inward, trying to find some sort of internal motivation to create. I started playing around with images —in my mind, in photographs, and with watercolor pencils. The day after Trump was defeated, I began an impressionist painting class at MSCR with Heidi Levy. Here was the moment, the flow, I was looking for. I felt riveted, time...

Biography: I go by Chele Ramos, and I am a Madison raised, self taught portrait artist. I have been painting for about 5 1/2 years now, but have enjoyed drawing since I was young. I grew up in Madison, took a 7 year hiatus on the west coast, and eventually found my way back to my hometown where I started my family and began my art career. My art focus has been portraiture, but as I grow my work has really become more about human emotion and mental health awareness. Going forward, Mental Health Awareness will be my main focus. I feel that there are a lot of broken people who don’t even know how broken they...