Before the COVID-19 pandemic RF Alvarez' work focused on "depictions of abstracted, anonymous figures in these Eden-like spaces: dreams of some alternate reality where bodies are confident and comfortable, heritages are blended, nature is lush and overgrown. These depictions were allegorical – mythical even – something to strive for, or perhaps hold our own reality up for juxtaposition." Now the artist states, "I’ve moved away from allegory, turned the lens onto the room I dream in rather than the dream itself. What dreams I do paint are distant now, faded, almost coming undone the longer time passes..." Alvarez' recent work is an example of how a pandemic affects a studio practice.