Michelle Monaghan — Contemporary Art Curator Magazine

Biography

As a child growing up in Scotland, Michelle always had a strong affinity for drawing. She particularly enjoyed pencil drawing people & animals and used to give them away to friends who would ask for them. She'd always planned to take art as a subject at school, however, various male family members discouraged her from doing so, believing that she must choose more 'academic subjects'. This resulted in the pursuit of science at school followed quickly by University, where she studied Toxicology. During the final years of the Toxicology course, it became apparent that science, although extremely interesting, did not really ignite her soul; nevertheless, she functioned/performed; passed all the exams, completed the course and gained an Honours Degree. In the years that followed, she focused on looking after those closest to her and that was the way that it remained until early 2019. After a duration of 18 years, she once again picked up a pencil and decided to draw, which has slowly evolved into beginning to paint. It's been an extremely steep learning curve but one which has helped to heal previous traumas. Michelle's dream is to continue pursuing art; pursuing happiness through art.

Artist Statement

My work focuses on intimate scenes – subjects who are in love. I like to explore the beauty of balance and equilibrium, the exchange of power and themes of desire across a range of empowering, sensual and erotic settings. The acrylic and oil paintings are a merge of the feminine and masculine; the dark and the light; the pleasure and the passion. Each piece challenges the viewer to dive beyond societal dogmas. For many, sex in art is deemed distasteful – unacceptable...and yet it is the very reason for the existence of us all. I aim with each piece, not to objectify women and the female body, but to evoke feelings of desire. Each and every person deserves to love and to be loved deeply and I hope that a small bit of that emotion, passion and trust is conveyed in some of the works.

What first prompted you to think of becoming an artist?

I'd always enjoyed art as a child and especially used to love pencil drawing people and animals. Art was something I excelled in during primary school years, however, during my teenage years, I was advised by male family members to pursue 'more academic' subjects. Art was viewed as 'not serious'; 'not professional' and of course, there was 'no money to be made in art', so I ended up studying all 3 sciences in my senior years of education and then went to University where I achieved an Honours Degree in Toxicology...and just like that, art was no longer a feature / priority in my life. In the years that followed, I started a small online business which centred mostly around elements concerning graphic design and although I had no formal training in this area, I managed to make ends meet allowing me to work from home and most importantly, to be present during my children's formative years. Life wasn't particularly easy (as I'm sure it's not for most these days) – and there were various traumatic experiences that occurred - including my children's father being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer when they were little toddlers, relationship breakdowns and issues surrounding the dynamics of a dysfunctional family as well as the death of my beloved grandmother whom I'd grown up being exceptionally close to. In the end, everything crashed and it was only during a period of 'rock bottom' that I was encouraged to pursue things I enjoyed; things that made me happy. I found a local art group and started attending infrequently. I began painting and found it to be unbelievably therapeutic – when you're concentrating on the next colour choice, the next brush stroke, your mind has a funny way of switching off the 'background chatter / background stress' and so the journey into painting began...

What kind of an artist do you ultimately see yourself?

I find this to be a really awkward / difficult question to answer – for several reasons really. I've always found it difficult when artists refer to themselves as 'artists'. I don't know – for me, I think there's something a little pretentious / uppity in there. Whenever I've heard artistic people refer to themselves as 'artists', there's almost always been a slight element of arrogance and / or superiority in their tone and it's really put me off using the term. I've always believed that artistic people (be it in music, drama, dance, writing, painting etc) should allow their audience and those who encounter their work to determine if they are indeed an artist...and I suppose I'm of the belief that absolutely every person on this planet has something – some ability that makes each of us an artist in our own way. Only a trained scientist can be a Microbiologist, however, any person with an idea can be artistic.

What are you hoping to communicate to the viewer through your work?

I've realised that love and support can get people through the toughest of times and that family is not necessarily blood. Many of us exist in relationships that are not 'right' – be it romantically or within our own extended family units. Often, there is a lack of balance and in many instances, one person bears an overwhelming amount of stress or blame, to the point where it can become a serious burden on their health and well being. Many families have a patriarchal family structure, where men control and dictate to the women within the unit – believing that they 'know better' which ultimately, affects the confidence levels of the female members of the family – often resulting in low self-esteem, a lack of confidence, anxiety and depression as well as the women not achieving their full potential. I don't consider myself to be a radical feminist, or indeed a feminist in any sense of the label (I'm not a fan of labels in general to be honest), but I do believe in equality and I think that the world would be a far better place if both the patriarchal males and the feministic females could only recognise that instead of battling and wanting to be better than their counterparts, if they worked together fairly, everyone's lives would improve. My work focuses on intimate scenes – subjects who are madly in love. I like to explore the beauty of balance and equilibrium, the exchange of power and themes of desire across a range of empowering, sensual and erotic settings. The acrylic and oil paintings are a merge of the feminine and masculine; the dark and the light; the pleasure and the passion. Each piece challenges the viewer to dive beyond societal dogmas. For many, sex in art is deemed distasteful – unacceptable...and yet it is the very reason for the existence of us all. I aim with each piece, not to objectify women and the female body, but to evoke feelings of desire. Each and every person deserves to love and to be loved deeply and I hope that a small bit of that emotion, passion and trust is conveyed in some of the works. Sometimes people need to hit the lowest level in order to fix what is broken and ultimately, to be able to heal themselves and for many, loving relationships help provide a firm foundation upon which to build and to fix.

Can you explain the process of creating your work?

The process of creation usually begins with a sudden idea or a period of prolonged procrastination –there's usually no middle ground there: it's all or nothing. Once I have a particular idea in mind, it's then a case of working out how best to convey this on canvas – ensuring that the balance, intensity, trust, deep love, serenity and transcendence that I hope to portray, somehow conveys / translates in paint. I begin with a sketch and when I'm satisfied that there's potential, I then begin painting, often in layers and due to the drying time required for oils, I like to have 3 or 4 paintings on the go at the one time – each at varying states of completion. I find that this often also helps with any small areas of frustration or challenges that arise as well. It's sometimes good to take time out if I encounter a challenging part on one particular painting, finish a part on another and then come back to the challenging piece with a fresh set of eyes (and a little more patience!).

What is your favourite part of the creative process?

I enjoy observing the changes that occur during the painting process and I always take photos at varying stages of work. It's exciting to watch as the figures on the canvas change from very basic, flat, human like characters to slightly more detailed people who hopefully evoke a sense of emotion to those who view them – we all ultimately, want to love and to be loved; we want to experience true romantic and passionate love and I hope that somehow my work makes people think a little about that; about dynamics within their own relationships and about those of the people around us – perhaps instead of being prudish about sex and sex related art (as many are), we should all be more open minded; perhaps the way we view the world around us may change.

Can you give us an insight into current projects and inspiration, or what we can look forward to from you in the near future?

Due to the ongoing pandemic that we are all struggling though in one way or another, be it financially, domestically, emotionally or mentally, I have not had anywhere near enough time to paint recently. The effects of coronavirus on my small business have been pretty devastating as they have for so many and I've had to put a lot of time into my day job; creating more designs and having more products on offer to try to stay afloat. Over the last few months, I haven't been exceptionally productive on the painting front although I do have several paintings that are very near to completion and won't take too long to finish once I get back to them again. I plan to expand on the current themes by adding in hints of a scientific nature for future works; merging love and passion with the chemicals that are responsible for them.

Website https://www.michellemonaghanart.com/

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