Monica Paterson
SummaryMonica Paterson is a visual artist residing on the North Shore in Tāmaki Makaurau with her husband and two teenage girls.
She has a background in art, fabric, and graphic design, having studied at Unitec and AUT. Since 2012, she has been actively engaged in painting with oils and acrylics and has never looked back.
Paterson’s work centers around a female-centric narrative that intricately connects to her mother’s Samoan lineage. The imagery and colour palette are inspired by her profound love of Pacific art, resulting in bold, vibrant, and occasionally chaotic scenes. Paterson’s work reflects her keen interest in folk art and a genuine passion for illustration.
Creative Process
To be honest, at the start of this residency, I felt overwhelmed. I had to combine family life, work, and the residency together. I had in my head that I must create at least two finished paintings and be ready to start another. Of course, things never go as planned, and I soon realized that was not going to happen. The pressure I put on myself in the beginning had me wondering what I had got myself into.
Then, after a few days, I let go of my expectations and reminded myself to enjoy the process. Enjoying the process is a huge factor in my paintings.
They must be created with love and not impatience.
Once I relaxed, it was much better. I went through my photos from a recent trip to Samoa and began sketching from those. I loved nighttime to work, no distractions, and I could zone out and get into a meditative state and create.
My starting point was some lava lavas I brought from Samoa. I prepared them to be painted on. I did some drawings of a community of women based on people I met in Samoa.
Creative Workspace
I am blessed to have a little room that is my studio, and I paint from there whenever I can find a quiet moment away from day-to-day life. This is usually at night when things are quiet, and I have time to myself.
The residency came at a good time, as I was fresh back from a trip to Samoa for a cousin's wedding, so I wanted to base a few pieces on inspiration from that.
Final Works
The first painting is based on village life and collecting fresh coconut for cooking. To scrape the coconut flesh, you need to sit on a wooden bench ('ausa'alo) that has a sharp point of some sort attached to the end of it, and then scrape the coconut flesh out into a bowl. The second painting I have begun during the residency but is currently in progress and is based on life outside a general store in Apia. So, watch this space!
Fale-ship Questionnaire
What is inspiring you right now??
My mother was born in Apia, so even though I wasn’t born there, I feel a strong alofa for Samoa, and much of my inspiration in my practice comes from Samoa. I also gravitate towards telling my stories in my painting from a woman's perspective for many reasons. I am a woman and I enjoy painting women, I have two daughters, and I have so many strong women in my life that I am in awe of and inspired by—these include my family, friends, and other female Moana artists in Tāmaki Makaurau.
When your Fale-ship Residency is eventually launched online, what would you like people to take away?
I hope that others can connect to my work and it brings a smile to a face. Simple as that!
Latest News
