Born in Pretoria, South Africa, Sonika Schroeder showed her vibrant personality through her early art. While other girls her age were drawing princesses and hearts, she was drawing the world through her eyes. She remembers her teacher saying “Oh Sonika, only you!” when she drew a bare-bottomed boy wearing only flippers and a floating device around his middle, whom she had seen at a public pool. After all, she had observed no princesses, at least not in her part of town.

After residing in Germany, Austria, and Israel, she settled down in the USA, became a citizen, and married her “funny as heck” husband. They now live in a small town in New Hampshire on several acres of land, surrounded by bears, moose, birds, deer, and “the cutest little rodents ever!” Though Sonika does not currently have any in-house pets of her own, she is an absolute dog fanatic.

Sonika is a self-taught artist and works in all art forms. Her favorite medium is acrylic paint but she also paints with watercolors. She loves attention to detail, which is especially evident in the eyes of her portraits. Some characters’ eyes contain up to seven different colors of paint! Adding the little whiskers and out-of-place hairs makes her critters come to life.

If Sonika could, she would keep all her portraits because there is nothing that makes her smile as much as looking at a dog’s face. When she paints, she is transported to a better place: a place of love, puppy breath, and furry snuggles. Her studio is her happy place and she hopes that each of her creations can bring a bit of her joy to the people who acquire her work. She feels that together, the two best things in the world – dogs and art – make true magic happen!

Sonika hopes to become involved with fundraisers for animal rescue organizations through her business and donate part of her profits to help those without a voice.

The Artist is a member of The Canine Art Guild , HeARTsspeak and “Dig-It”- Dunbarton, New Hampshire Art Group.