Matera
Matera
$650.00
2-block reductive linocut relief print, impression is 12×12”, with frame: 19×19”; solid walnut ebony framed print, museum glass
about the artist
My artwork is largely nature-inspired, particularly by the untamed forests of the Sierra Nevada, the dynamic, rugged Pacific coastline or my travels across our beautiful planet. My work as an artist and interest in the environment prompted me to become a Certified California Naturalist, which in turn, has greatly informed and enhanced my projects. I enjoy spending time in each chosen area, sketching, photographing and observing, both the habitat and its residents, to get a feel for the rhythms of a place before developing a print. I’ve gone so far as to develop a portable ‘plein air’ carving set up to further imbue my works with their origins! I hope to impart to my audience an awareness of the importance of wild spaces and their increasingly threatened inhabitants, as well as an appreciation of species and habitat diversity. I strive to bring into my work the feelings of peacefulness, serenity and wonder I experience when observing the world outside our walls.
Working primarily in relief and intaglio, my favorite facet of printmaking over the last eight years has been reductive linocut relief. I credit my rather distinct style to being blissfully unaware of what the perceived limitations of the medium might be for other practitioners, being largely self-taught. I find the meditative, time-consuming and intricate nature of printmaking enhances the experience of creation in my works. The medium can involve nearly all the senses, from the tactile carving of the wood or linoleum in a relief print, to the sound of the needle working a copper etching, the smell of the studio when mixing up the ink, and of course, the visual revelation as the image slowly emerges on the paper, layer by layer, through the work of the press or by my hand-held baren.
Member, California Society of PrintmakersAssociate
Member, Society of Animal Artists
Certified California Naturalist
RECENT AWARDS:
2019, National Original Print Exhibition 2019, Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers, Bankside Gallery, London, England
Ironbridge Fine Art Printmaker Prize – “Take Away”
2019, Carnegie Art Showcase, Carnegie Arts Center, Turlock, CA
Award of Merit – “Take Away”
2018, Santa Barbara Printmakers Summer Juried Exhibit, Channing Peake Gallery, SB, CA
First Place – “Forecast: Rain, Locally Heavy at Times”
2018, Yosemite Renaissance 33, Yosemite Museum, YNP
First Place – “Autumn Aspens”
COLLECTIONS:
Monique has works in the permanent collection of the Maryhill Museum of Art in Goldendale, WA, as well as in private collections in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and throughout North America.