The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.
-Pablo Picasso

Welcome! My name is Monique. I'm a free spirited artist, wife, sister, daughter, friend and life long learner. I love life and I love to evolve and grow both artistically and spiritually. My artwork is my journey and I look forward to sharing this path with you! I love painting henna (mehndi) art on anything I can get my hands on! So far, I've enjoyed making canvas art, picture frames, tote bags and gratitude cards. This blog is a way for me to share my art, and therefore my heart, with you.
 

First paintings sold. It was a blissful process and it felt even more joyful to give them away.

 

How did I start painting? I never really considered myself to be an artistic person growing up. I was always very scientifically minded. Henna art is something that was just a part of my childhood. As a child, I was exposed to henna art at weddings and felt an innate pull to practice it myself. Henna art is something that I did for fun at various culture fairs hosted by my old high school. And it pretty much became dormant for about 5 years after I graduated high school. It wasn't until finishing grad school that I got re-acquainted with this part of myself. At this point in my life, I had reconnected with spirituality and connecting with my joy became my new priority. No surprise that this allowed me to reconnect with my most authentic self. A few months after finishing up grad school, I went to an art fair on the east coast with my family. I came across a man and his wife who were creating henna designs on paper and selling them in frames. I was intrigued, curious and inspired immediately. A true calling was made known, and as some of you may know, when your true calling finds you, it makes itself impossible to ignore! 

I started out with black and white sketches and quickly transitioned into experimentation with different paints and canvases. I'm always experimenting and its always evolving, as am I. There are many nights where an image will just pop into my head and call out to be painted. It's such an odd experience to be sound asleep and all of a sudden, from thin air, get inspiration. There's a saying that describes all of us as being the holes  in the flute that the sound of life emanates from. That is very much how I feel when I am creating these paintings. It feels like a surge of energy is shooting through me and I am just a vessel that the energy can go through in order manifest itself.

Painting takes me to a place of flow, where hours pass within minutes. The energy that I feel as I'm creating is one of joy, peace and love. And so, my hope is that those who I am blessed to share my artwork with, also experience this energy. My intention is for my artwork to bring peace, presence and joy for all who cross paths with it.
 
Thank you so much for exploring my artwork! It really is my heart fully exposed and I am honored to be able to share this part of myself with YOU. Enjoy!