One week before the stay-at-home order was put in place back in March, I had a long phone conversation with a former professor of mine. The timing was good. I was able to develop a character which could function as a stand-in for my current emotional state and interactions with the world, both interior and exterior. Using old cartoon tropes such as bulging eyes, white gloves and comical proportions, this new “vessel”, which I lovingly have named “The Stand-In”, has helped me to explore my inner world more intricately. As an artist who was predominantly working in abstraction for many years, this foray into Magic Realism (artists such as John Wilde and Gertrude Abercrombie have been large influences on this series) was also refreshing, new and scary. While this series began in 2020, it has proved ample inspiration to grow and evolve since then.