By Pia De Girolamo

Artists come in a variety of flavors: some are hermits and some are social beings and some are both generally at different times. I class myself among the latter. I hide myself away in the quiet sanctuary of my studio but I do enjoy a meet up with other artists. 

Groups of artists in the past were geographically adjacent. Many were drawn to the cities such as Paris for the Impressionists, New York City for the Abstract Expressionists for example. The art schools, the curators, the galleries, and the collectors were located in these cities. Whether you were drawn to an art movement or rebelled against it you found the camaraderie of fellow travelers sustaining to your work and vision. Artists would meet in each other’s studios and critique each other’s work. After finishing work in the studio, they’d meet to relax in cafes and in bars. They’d often vacation together in beautiful spots where they might also work as well as recharge. 

In the internet age and in particular during the pandemic era, even artists in distant locations now forge relationships with each other. I have made several good friends online that I eventually met up with in real life.  For example, one is in Portland, ME, one in Wisconsin, and one near Toronto¹. Most of my art critiques occur online. I have taken several invaluable art courses online without the stress of transporting supplies and myself to a distant city. It’s amusing to think that in the future some art historian will be writing about this period like they did the cafe society in Paris in the 1800s or the bar scene among NY artists in the 1930s.

Alexandra McLaughlin

Andrea Naylor

Elizabeth Fraser

I live relatively close to a city, Philadelphia, which has a significant art scene and I show in an art gallery there². My studio is in the suburbs, however, and it is not easy for people to come out and see my work here on a regular basis or for me to easily get into the city. Obligations also get in the way of socializing. An artist has only so much energy. In my opinion, interacting via the computer allows any primary caregiver of children or other family members to break out of a potentially isolated existence and continue to participate in the communal art experience. Women still provide the majority of child and elder care and I am happy to see women artists who are also mothers making strong supportive relationships online that help them continue their work.

There is a very real and tangible difference in seeing work online versus in person. Nuances of texture, line and color get lost in the flattened surface of the computer screen. Meeting people in real life is indefinably richer than on a computer screen. When I can, I do make time to see art and meet with artists in real life. However, when the constraints of geography and daily responsibilities intervene, I maintain that the Internet has helped me grow as an artist and a person. 

1 alexandramclaughlin.com, andreanaylor.com, fraserartstudio.com

2 Cerulean Arts.

Pia De Girolamo is an accomplished painter living and working in the Greater Philadelphia area whose recent exhibitions featured large-scale paintings based on abstracted mountain landscapes, as well as a series evoking the urban landscapes of Rome and Italy. She has had thirteen solo exhibitions, most recently at the Museo Mastroianni, within the Musei di San Salvatore in Lauro in Rome and at the Cerulean Arts Gallery in Philadelphia. She has also shown extensively in group exhibitions regionally.  De Girolamo has a BA in Art History from Barnard College, Columbia University and an MD degree from the University of Rochester. She lectures on the relationship between art and medicine as well as the connections between art, nature, and health. Her awarded work has been acquired for collections by the Museo Mastroianni, Rome, PNC Bank, Pittsburgh, PA and Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia and has been highlighted in Hollywood feature films. For more information on De Girolamo’s work: piadegirolamo.com