From my very earliest years I loved art - color, pattern, and imagery. I was always drawing. In grade school I looked forward to art class where we could illustrate ideas that our teacher gave us every week, using pastel and colored pencil.  Later on I took art lessons, learning how to paint in oils, pastels, and watercolors. I also loved fashion - experimenting with fabric and texture. I realized a childhood .dream of going to the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, RI, and majored in Apparel Design.

I went on to a career in the garment industry in New York City - designing women's dresses, from day to evening wear, at every price point.. The computer age came into the fashion industry and I jumped on all of the opportunities that it afforded, utilizing graphic and image applications, web design, and even learning to write code.

In tandem with my fashion career, I do watercolor landscapes and portraits of people, pets, and houses. Most recently I started painting and drawing abstract art, studying under Meredith Rosier at the Woodstock School of Art.

As an artist and designer what most informs my work is the concept of taking something flat and making it into something round. With clothing I sculpt fabric into three-dimensional shapes that conform to the body. With drawing and painting I try to create a three-dimensional space on a flat surface with the use of tonality, proximity, scale, balance, contrast, and juxtaposition. My love of color is a continual inspiration for creating various moods, whether vibrant or subtle, always seeking to make the flat surface achieve depth. My goal is to bring beauty and thoughtfulness to the world.

Bio

Monique received a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in Apparel Design and an MFA in Web Design New Media from the Academy of Art University. In tandem with her design career she also works as an artist, creatinglandscapes, and portraits of people, animals, and homes in watercolor. Most recently Monique has studied under Meredith Rosier at the Woodstock School of Art, expanding her repertoire to include abstract drawing and painting in mixed media. Her work hangs in many homes and was featured in a solo exhibition at the Manor Club, Pelham Manor, NY and at Art Effects Gallery in Pelham, NY.