Nourishing Artwork

from The Portraits of Todd Franson - Metro Weekly Special 26th Anniversary Issue

Empty Nest: DC's Oldest Leather Bar Closes for Good

Christine Vineyard is creating fabulous city art to raise funds for DC Central Kitchen to provide food for those in need during COVID-19.

By Doug Rule

The messages that people have been sending me about why they're choosing to purchase specific prints...are almost as touching as the donations themselves,” says Christine Vineyard. “I think it resonates with a lot of people right now that these are places they can't access, but that they love.”

In fact, it was that sentiment that sent Vineyard, an art teacher at a D.C. middle school, to her drawing board shortly after the COVID-19 shutdown. “I just started doing these illustrations,” she says. “I started with the Anthem because of the message they have on their marquee: ‘We'll get thru this,’ which is really profound. Then I did Capitol Hill Books and the Hill Center, places that were important to me. I began posting them on my Instagram and social media, just as sort of my own goodwill.”

**The Anthem**
Artwork by Christine Vineyard

Once followers to her @ Lidflutters accounts began requesting specific illustrations, and especially after businesses started doing so, she knew she was onto something. Two weeks ago, Vineyard officially launched the project as a fundraising campaign for the DC Central Kitchen, an organization many of her students and their families rely on even in normal circumstances.

“DC Central Kitchen is feeding so many more people now than they normally do because all these people are out of school and work, and so they need these extra funds even more,” she says.

Vineyard is offering 8x10 prints of her nearly 60 illustrations for $22 each, with larger sizes available upon request. Proceeds from each transaction go directly to DC Central Kitchen, after production and packing costs. Vineyard plans to continue adding new works to the series in the weeks to come. “I’m giving priority to businesses that are requesting to be included, because that is part of the focus,” she says.

Vineyard, who has been featured everywhere from FOX5 to EaterDC to the HillRag is stunned by the response. “All the exposure is really awesome,” she says. “It's just getting more attention to these businesses. And it's getting more money to DC Central Kitchen, so it's a win-win.”

Visit www.lidflutters.com/shop or follow @lidflutters on social media.

Keep scrolling to see a gallery of Christine's works: