In the painting Letter for Leland, Grear Patterson draws from his filmmaking background to present a narrative that instantly grounds the audience in a relatable scene. A lone mailbox, an emblem of leafy American suburbia, occupies the center of canvas. A winding road behind it, empty and vast, slices through a crimson background that enhances the sense of anticipation. As a physical receptacle of news, the mailbox has become a surrogate for humans, particularly during lockdown. The restrictions on physical touch and the replacing of interpersonal interactions with a digital matrix of correspondence have turned mailboxes and humans alike into untouched vessels for communication. Letter for Leland, dedicated to a childhood friend and created while the Spain-based artist was under lockdown with his wife and newborn, is a nostalgic ode to a simpler past and a desire to reconnect.