A few weeks ago, Mark Rothkopf was busy finishing up preparations for his solo exhibition, “Other Realities,” at Eastside Artists’ Gallery in Frederick, which will feature not only his photography, which has been his concentration for decades, but also an art form he rediscovered early in the COVID-19 pandemic: painting.

Rothkopf began drawing and painting when he was 7 years old. He went on to study studio art and art history at the University of Maryland College Park, but a few years after obtaining his B.A., he took a photography workshop in Putney, Vermont. Speaking of the head teacher of the workshop, Rothkopf said, “[Fred Picker was a] very charismatic, inspiring person. When I saw his work and his staff … I was forever changed.”