Pandemic Paintings
In March 2020, when New York City went into lockdown, Sonya Sklaroff could no longer paint in her NoHo art studio. Instead, she created a new studio by setting up an easel in her midtown Manhattan apartment - which was also serving as her husband 's new office and her children 's new school. She painted her daily life, her family, her dreams, and everything she missed from the "before times."
As the COVID-19 numbers rose through the summer and protests intensified, Sklaroff and her family left the city for more tranquil surroundings. She continued with her Pandemic series in friends ' backyards, at rental houses in the countryside, and wherever else she could work. After returning to the city, she worked in her studio through the fall and winter, focusing on the darkness that seemed to envelop the world. But in the spring, as the city began to reopen, she painted neighbors, friends, and city views filled with promise and joy.
