Alyssa Monks

Alyssa is an American figurative painter that, like me, specialises in large oil paintings. Currently based in Brooklyn she predominantly paints the female form often portraying herself and others and the human experience.

I came across Alyssa’s work in semester 1 and I’ve been smitten ever since. The way she layers the paint, creating texture and light is inspirational. Her current works blend flowers and nature as an overlay to the subject. The way she incorporates pattern, colour and texture is simply breathtaking. Her use of impasto has definitely driven a change in direction for me. A different technique that I am trying but yet to master. A combination of the way I blend but also texturising my paintings. The tension between realism and luminous floral overlay really resonates with my artistic practice.

I have always been attracted to the femme as subject while including surrealist and dream like qualities and mythology. My predominant issues leaning heavily to feminism and sexuality while trying to find new ways to merge all I want to say through my art, including my journey through life, love and loss. Alyssa’s artistic practice also combines everyday existence and life altering tragedy that has driven a new direction with her work.

Alyssa lost her mum to lung cancer in 2012. Like me she had watched her mum succumb to this horrific disease and after a year, eventually die. My mother died after a 10 month battle with Non Hodgkins Lymphoma when I was 8 months pregnant with my first child. These losses are huge and rock the very foundations of your existence. Unlike Alyssa I had a child to bring into the world and my painting didn’t start until 22 years after my mother passed and 6 months before my daughter was diagnosed with cancer. Though I had always been creative and did a lot of sketching, drawing and makeup, my life was taken over with raising children. But how grateful I was to have my artistic practice to fall to when my beautiful 20 year old daughter passed away after 8 weeks! Yes these horrendous tragedies make you question EVERYTHING! Life as you knew it no longer exists so I, too, painted! And I am still painting……..

Pandora – 40 x 40 inches – oil on linen 2019

Dhapeshifter – 62 x 90 inches – oil on linen 2019

Warrior – 62 x 90 inches – oil on linen 2019

Espial Study – 12 x 16 inches – oil on panel 2019

Scream II – 36 x 54 inces – oil on linen 2017

Set – 32 x 32 inches – oil on linens 2017

Become – 50 x 80 inches – oil on linen 2015

Alyssa has had solo exhibitions, been part of group exhibitions, won awards and grants. I envy her that she knew what she wanted to do at such a young age and her mother was so supportive. She received her MFA in 2001 from the New York Academy of Art and is Ranked 16 out of 30 in a list of the most influential women artist alive today by the graphic design degree hub. I can only hope to have a career as wonderful as hers. She really is an inspiration!