ALYSSA MONKS: PAINTS REALISM

Alyssa Monks is strikingly rare in her artistry. Monks has established a way of painting that mixes realism and abstraction forming figurative art. She calls it “realism that can be achieved through anatomical accuracy,” which means that her oil paintings visually look real, much like a still photo.

Interestingly enough, the contemporary oil artist paints directly from photographs, but this is not her dependency because she is the inventor of her paintings. The photos are simply used as reference.

“I’m interested in continuing to push the possibilities of painting technique – discover new ways to create illusion, new ways to apply the paint and create new effects,” Monks says.

Monks refers to her oil paintings as “color relationships” that produce the volume and space, as well as the application that creates a “fleshy” texture, thus creating realistic oil paintings.

While all serious painters have a process, Monks says that if one aspect is lacking from a painting, then it doesn’t create the same effect.

“I believe there is a sublime balance between technique and concept, both are necessary and support each other. When one wins out over the other, there is [a] disconnect and the overall impact of the work can get lost,” she says.

The 33-year-old is known for painting women who are either a reflection of her or other females that the artist has crossed paths with personally. Usually the women are bare; “sharing their imperfections” as Monks puts it.

They are painted in a specific way that allows the gaze to be planted on the viewer instead of the painting itself.

“These paintings are representing the contemporary woman, with a nod to the female gaze on the viewer … many times; the artist [me] is the subject and the viewer.”

When deciding to use water in her canvasses, Monks had an interesting process.

 “First I covered myself with Vaseline and water. Then I used a vinyl shower curtain, and the shower doors were next. Some of the shower doors create this mosaic effect and some of them are flat; it seemed like the next natural evolution,” she says in an article on www.flavorwire.com.

As one gazes at her paintings, you can see that there are barriers in between the women, and it always involves water.

“Putting a barrier in between the viewer and the subject invites the viewer to work a little harder,” Monks says.

The glass in her paintings is a reference to the windowpane that leads into another world. It also paints an idea of having the women be involved with conversation,” she says.

Much like her paintings of women, Monks paints children and men who look as real as if you pressed paused on a High-definition movie. Monks, who was born in Ridgewood, N.J., is no stranger to the art world. She began her journey oil painting as a child. She graduated from Boston College in 1999 with a B.A. Soon after she went on to earn her M.F.A. from the New York Academy of Art, Graduate School of Figurative Art in 2001. During her college years, she spent some time studying at Lorenzo de’ Medici  in Florence, Italy, which is known as Italy’s most distinguished and established study abroad institution. Monks has taught at various colleges including Flesh painting at the New York Academy of Art, Montclair State University and the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts.

Monks has a promising future ahead of her, and she has already received a number of accolades such as the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant for Painting and her work has been seen at the Savannah College of Arts, the Somerset Art Association and the collections of Howard Tullman, Danielle Steele and Eric Fischl. Monks’ current solo exhibition is at the David Klein Gallery in Birmingham, Mich., from Oct. 23 through Nov. 27. She recently finished up a group show at Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ, from Oct. 11 through Nov. 13.

Monks continues to paint looking to explore more of the abstractions in realities.

“Our individual realities are abstractions anyway, so there is something about this that intrigues me in the visual sense. I’m really fascinated by this medium and its possibilities.”

-Maya Carpenter & Jaya Franklin

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