Socially Distanced

By Nancy Polo

based on an original watercolor on paper, 2021, 18"x24", by Nancy Polo. The tent villages popped up quickly all around #WashingtonDC in March 2020. Over a year later they linger under bridges, on the edge of parks, and in more prominent places like in front of the #PNCBank branch on Connecticut Avenue. I come across this man almost every Sunday when I work at the #freshfarm #dupontcircle #farmersmarket He's usually having a very loud conversation with himself. As I painted him, images of St. Jerome in the desert came to mind. Jerome is best known for his translation of the Bible into Latin. He lived an ascetic life of extreme deprivations, and he was prone to hallucinations. I wonder if this man knows more about #whatsgoingon than the the rest of us.