Clare Stokolosa, a Bayside resident and award-winning artist, has found inspiration from the mundane during COVID-19 lockdown.
Stokolosa, who was awarded the Italian Heritage and Culture Award by former Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, has adapted her artwork as a result of the pandemic by creating a “#StayAtHome” painting series — which she’s recently renamed to “#Anticipation” when New York entered phased reopening.
“Each day I spend time deciding and planning my next painting for my video,” she said. “This helps to fill my days during the pandemic and share my thoughts.”
Two of her pieces were picked up by virtual art exhibits in Milan, Italy, and Long Island City.
Her piece, entitled “Saute Some Onions and Garlic,” is a mesmerizing sketch painted in watercolor depicting produce that is currently being displayed in the Long Island City Artists (LIC-A) virtual exhibit “Drawings in a Time of Social Distancing,” curated by Jorge Posada.
The virtual exhibit by the nonprofit arts advocacy organization will be online until Aug. 12, featuring drawings by several artists divided into three rooms: “traditional,” “non-traditional” and “interior-exterior views.”
Stokolosa’s painting falls under “interior-exterior views.”
“The vegetables provide vivid colors and fun organic shapes while also bringing nature inside,” Stokolosa said. “There are so many colors other than pure white that I used to shade and shadow the surface of the garlic, which reminds me of painting clouds. The old-fashioned design of the towel with bright yellow, blue, red and green complements the colors of the vegetables.”
A portion of the proceeds from her sales of the paintings will go to the Food Bank of NYC.
While in quarantine, Stokolosa — who’s had some of her artwork displayed on the city’s LinkNYC Kiosks in the past — began a YouTube video diary showcasing her process.
In one of her #StayAtHome vlogs on her YouTube channel, CSART, Stokolosa gave a tour of her Bayside home studio — a relatively small space full of her art materials. So far, she’s uploaded 45 #StayAtHome vlogs and six #Anticipation videos.
Stokolosa showed viewers how simple it can be to set up their own home studio, on one of her videos called “Carve a Space in Your Home.”
