At a very young age, Monique Sakellarios knew she wanted to be an artist. Born in Egypt, she took art classes for several years at the Leonardo Da Vinci School of Art in Cairo where her teacher told her: “You paint like Monet.”
While Monique is inspired by Monet’s subject matter and style, she finds her paintings are entirely her own. Instead of painting on a white canvas like the Impressionists, Monique primes her canvas with cadmium red. Starting with a strong base changes all the colors applied overtop, giving each painting a unique flow. Thus, the viewer gets the impression that the light is coming from “behind” the painting.
Before landing on her unique style, Monique experimented in various mediums and themes. Her first exhibition of work was at the Whistler House Museum of Art, where she premiered realistic portraits. In time, she pivoted her work towards the impressionists, eventually adding more abstract and semi-abstract elements. While Monique had originally believed artists painted abstracts because it was easier than a more realistic style, she was surprised to discover that abstract paintings are actually very difficult to complete – with no memory, reference, image, it was all pure imagination!
Monique’s first solo exhibition as a professional artist was also at the Whistler House Museum of Art, but she quickly began entering into national competitions. Since then, she has competed nationally and has won countless awards. As a result, she was invited to become a signature member of the Oil Painters of America. A national organization dedicated to the preservation of representational art, her membership to the Oil Painters of American allowed her to add the initials “OPA” after her signature. Later on, she was invited to become a signature member of the National Oil & Acrylic Painters Society.
Along with countless galleries and shows, Monique’s work has been exhibited throughout the United States, including Whistler House Museum, Lowell, MA:
Monique has also been invited by the French Ministry of Culture and Foreign Affairs to exhibit her work in Andrezieux-Boutheon, France.
She was interviewed twice on Channel 9 Four News, Manchester, NH. Her television educational programs were featured on Chelmsford Community TV, Peabody Community TV, Lynnfield Community TV Channel 17, and Channel 8 Chelmsford, Lowell, and Billerica.
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