The Story Behind the NYC Mini Collection

Last January I booked a trip to visit a dear friend in New York City in March (2020). But then the COVID pandemic swept the country, and I decided to postpone the trip a few months, naively thinking that this whole “pandemic” thing would be over by the summer. Summer turned into autumn, which turned into winter, and in January I was notified by the airline that I would lose the flight if I didn’t use it by the end of February 2021. So I got my COVID test, strapped on a mask, and hopped on that plane to LGA…

Being in New York was surreal, not only because it had been so long since I had traveled — the last trip I had taken was a short road trip to the Texas Hill Country for my birthday last August — but also because the protocols and restrictions in New York around the pandemic were much different than they were in Texas. Every restaurant had built some sort of outdoor enclosure on the sidewalk (see my Cafe Cluny painting below). And while outdoor dining is probably more enjoyable in the spring and summer, it was still a fun experience to be able to see the city around me through a clear plastic wall or roof inside these makeshift sidewalk cafes.

One of my favorite things about visiting New York during the pandemic was how much time I spent outdoors just walking around the city. In the span of a few days, I walked about 20 miles, something I rarely do at home. One day we walked all around the west side, from Chelsea to Washington Square Park to Soho, Nolita, Greenwich Village and back. The next day we walked through Central Park in the rain to The Met. My feet were so tired, I think hardly conquered one-fourth of the museum before I promptly sat down by the Temple of Dendur and called it quits.

Please enjoy this series of small paintings inspired by my trip to New York. My hope is that one of these paintings will bring you the same joy and nostalgia that it brought me.

— Brie