“Many of us are dealing with the concerns of not knowing when we will be able to go about our normal lives again,” says artist Anthony Irizarry, aka Mackaroni Tony, whose latest drawing, titled Is it Safe Yet?, depicts a puppy stepping out from its doghouse wearing a surgical mask. “My drawing shows these feelings from a pet’s point of view, because during these tough times, our pets are just as uncertain as we are.”
Irizarry, 29, created the work in his standard fashion — that is, in highly-detailed graphite pencil on paper — to express that universal question: How long must we shelter in place? “It reflects the uncertainty that we are all facing,” he says. The drawing earned the self-taught, Palm Desert–based artist $500 to Keep Art Alive, an artist relief grant from the California Desert Arts Council (CDAC).
CDAC and affiliate La Quinta Arts Foundation established a $50,000 Keep Art Alive fund to award grants to Coachella Valley artists and arts organizations who create thoughtful, inspiring, and relevant works responding to the crisis.
Specializing in drawing people, animals, and other subjects, Irizarry has exhibited and sold work in the Coachella Valley (including Palm Springs Art Museum), Los Angeles, and Las Vegas. He says, “My true feeling of accomplishment comes when my amazing customers purchase my art for their homes.”
See more drawings by Mackaroni Tony at artbymackaroni.com
