Hi my name is Mona Birmingham and I would like to give you a little background about me. Throughout my years as an artist I find myself captured in the emotional aspect of painting by capturing the light, mood and color that reminds us what and who we are. I currently live in a small town on the Eastern Shore of Maryland with my husband and recently moved into my new home.I moved here from the Hudson Valley, New York and grew up on the South Shore of Long Island and was born in the Philippines. Since I have been living here I have rediscovered my passion for oil painting again and learning pastel as well. I love pastels is such a fun medium and addictive. I use to do pastels a long time ago but now I’m hooked. The land and water around me makes me want to express that environment in my paintings. Trying different mediums has allowed me to experiment and free myself, to loosen up. We get so tight sometimes doing the same medium. It is my good fortune to find two plein air groups near me, Pleinair Painters of the Chesapeake Bay and the Academy Art Musuem Pleinair. The act of painting outdoors has made me so appreciative of nature and the beauty near me. Capturing the light, texture and forms in landscape has helped me be able to paint differently in other areas. Plein air painting has made me enjoy it more and to do it more.As a painter workshops allow me to discover new techniques and to help me be a better painter. I am currently working on more abstract pieces using the light and atmosphere simpling the landscape.
Experimenting is a little scary but it’s a new path taking creative risks whether big or small propels us forward to another creative endeavor. New thinking challenges and pushes us ,doing workshops and seeing other artist encourages to think differently. I’m up to the challenge.Whether doing plein air landscape or a studio painting I love to capture the feeling of the experience.
All throughout my twenty plus year career as a Textile Colorist, Embroidery Designer and Interior Designer I have always made time to paint by taking classes or a open studio. I love drawing life studies from a model and being able to draw quickly is such a intense challenge. “Working from life” is the only way to paint but the studio offers the other alternative to paint inside from your photos. All my work are photographs and observations I have taken and consider myself an artist who is constantly learning and staying within the classical guidelines but always swaying to do something different. Classically trained from some prestigious schools and some wonderful master artist my work include portraits, stilllifes, pets,pleinair landscapes and mixed media.I want my work to speak for itself.
My impressionistic approach to painting is not defined till I take that step back and looks at the painting for the first time. That first glance really tells me how I should approach it.I paint and see beyond the obvious and more into the mood and overall feeling of the moment. There has to be a relationship between the artist and it’s subject. It’s addictive.
Open Studio
Academy Art Musuem
Chesapeake Fine Art Studio- Hai-Ou Hou Artist
Chestertown Plein air
Education
New York School of Interior Design New York, NY
B.F.A. Interior Design (certified w/ASID,IIDA)
Fashion Inst. Of Technology New York, NY
A.A.S. Fine Arts
Fashion Inst. Of Technology New York, NY
B.F.A. Textile Design
Fine Art School Instructions
Academy Museum of Art, Grand Central Atelier, Ridgewood Art Institute, Woodstock School of Art, Art Student League of New York , New York Academy of Art, National Academy Museum and School,
School of Visual Arts, Wet Paints Art League, Huntington Art League,
Parson School of Design, Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of Stonybrook, Star Gallery and Wallkill River School
Artist
Chris Rapa,Diane Rappisi,Mary Pritchard,Bernie Dellario,Brad Ross, Meg Walsh, Louis Escobedo, Sheryl Southwick, Lois Woolley, Justin Wood,Donald Elder,Anthony Kirk, Rebecca Leer, Dean Hartung, John A. Varriano, Keith Gunderson, Master John Osborne,Andrew Lattimore, Don Perlis, Richard Pitts, Maryanne Goetz, Marlene Bezich, Shawn Dell Joyce, Barry Pariser, Gene Bove, William Noonan, and Hongniau Zhang