Monica has always turned to art as a way of expressing herself and bringing her thoughts to life. She works primarily in oils, painting portraits, figurative works, florals, and landscapes. She also illustrates children’s books in gouache.
Monica’s mental health has been a lifelong challenge, shaped by a difficult childhood and adulthood, followed by decades of recovery. Today, Monica has built meaningful and joyful relationships with family and friends who support and love her. Yet, even in this brighter chapter, daily triggers remain, and she relies on personal practices to maintain balance and wellbeing. 

For Monica, painting and drawing are lifelines to light - reminders that the world is richer and more whole when we give expression to our inner selves.

Follow Monica on Instagram and check out her website.

Inspired by my visit to Margaret Olley’s house at the Tweed Regional Gallery, I was moved to clean up my own art room. I arranged a table with flowers from my garden, lemons from my tree, and added some oranges to build this colourful composition. A lettuce had gone to flower in the garden, and I was delighted to include its small yellow blooms in the painting, along with the rich green leaves of the lemon tree in the foreground.