Monica Bergquist was born in South Dakota (b. 1981) and moved to Montana at age 16. Although she currently resides, works and plays in Helena, Montana with her family, she lived in Washington, Hawaii, Utah, New Hampshire and New York before settling back in Big Sky country. Monica has a BA in Fine Arts and a MS in Nutritional Science and is newly reemerging as an artist after a two decade hiatus.
How did you get into art?
I’ve always enjoyed creating and considered myself an artist from a young age. I succumbed to pressure to get a “real” job and changed direction after studying art in college for stability and worked in clinical and research dietetics after completing a coordinated Master’s program.
After welcoming three kids to our family, and going through intense grief after my Mom passed away from cancer, I couldn’t ignore my calling to paint any longer. Now that my youngest goes to preschool some mornings, I’m doing what I feel I’m meant to do with my life.
How would you describe your style? What makes your work special?
I would describe my style as eclectic. Coming back to art, I’ve let perfection and realism go and I’m drawn to process-oriented fluid art, which is abstract, intuitive and exciting. I have compositions in mind when beginning, but flex with the materials I’m using. From the mixing and testing of color palettes, to adding texture, flinging and pouring paint to wild or detailed finish work with pencils, pens, brushes or palette knives - it’s all my jam. In order to work larger this year, I’ve worked on refining base recipes, often using house/latex paints, acrylic mediums and acrylics to stretch paints further. I also routinely add solvents, aerosol paints, graphite and/or charcoal plus paint markers and sometimes oil paints in my mixed media works. In addition, I also like doing slow grid oil paintings (like many small abstract paintings) that end up looking realistic and the occasional collage using varied materials.
How do you go about developing your work?
First, I work out color palettes and experiment on different substrates going from small to large and testing different recipes, styles and consistencies. Once paints and pigments are ready to go, I often add texture to the canvas or substrate before pouring large. Much of my work includes a portion of transparent base, which dries a sheer warm milky white. After the initial fluid art process dries, then I begin layering finish work and texture with mixed media until my vision is complete.
Who or what influences you?
My artist’s statement gets into this more, but I’m influenced by Complexity Theory and the notion that things self-organize. Complex systems aren’t purely orderly, or chaotic and often display transformation with all states present. Art, to me, makes sense of the world in a visual timeless way, but it’s also much deeper - colored by emotions, feelings and spirit that words cannot convey. How these numerous systems intertwine, layer, connect and portray themselves in an artistic way interests me. Paintings become their own ecosystem, just like the natural world, and we decide the scale. Is it macro- or microscopic and how does that make you feel? I believe fluid art allows me to visually portray this theory best. Artists in the fluid-art style I’ve learned from and get inspiration include US based fluid artist Sara Taylor and the Swedish artist Emma Lindström.
Make us curious. What are you planning to do next?
I’m currently working towards a large commission and completing a 60x72” pour (my largest to date). Hopefully more art shows soon! I also just started a 12-month art business coaching program to expand my reach and I’m just getting started! I can’t wait to see where this process takes me next.
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