Yellow Springs Art Show Announces Poster Artist for 50TH Anniversary Show
Congratulations Monique Sarkessian
MONIQUE SARKESSIAN’S painting, WHERE YOUR GLORY DWELLS 149, was selected as the poster for 2023, our 50th Yellow Springs Art Show. Monique’s submission was part of the Poster Competition and Exhibition in December 2022. The painting will be featured on the cover of the exhibition catalogue and reproduced as a poster and in the form of note cards. The catalogue, poster and cards will be available for purchase at the show.
Monique has been painting professionally for 37 years. She holds a Bachelors in Fine Arts from Temple University’s Tyler School of Art and continued her art education by attending workshops and classes. She resides in the Malvern area and has exhibited at Yellow Springs since 2016. Her work has been exhibited at galleries throughout this region and in western Pennsylvania. Her studio is in her home. While raising five children, Monique said her studio time was quite limited early on, but she now devotes more time to work and experiment with her art.
Where Your Glory Dwells 149 is an example of an alcohol ink painting. This process is similar to watercolor, but the effect is to make colors more vibrant. As the alcohol dilutes the ink, the colors become more fluid and as they move about, they create exciting reactions. Monique said that she loves the process of painting and experimenting with techniques like this. She acknowledges that some unhappy surprises can arise when ink and alcohol interact, but the result is often exciting. Monique noted that combining alcohol and ink is always an experiment and that it can require re-painting elements of her work. Where Your Glory Dwells 149 was still in progress until days before the poster competition launched. She was grocery shopping when Maureen Fendrick called to notify her that her painting had been the competition winner.
She wanted her artwork to bestow honor to Yellow Springs – the place and the art show. She is excited to be a part of the show and what everyone has done. The artists, the committee, the volunteers, and the patrons bring her joy and delight. The Yellow Springs Art Show welcomes spring. Monique exclaimed, “Being in the show is like community service!” She loves giving back.
Monique said that she is a frequent visitor to Yellow Springs, where she takes photographs and paints en plein air. She enjoys the feeling, the history, and the heritage found here. In prior visits, she had painted shrubs in the village, but the colorful azaleas are the subject of this year’s featured selection. The colors of the courtyard, reflected in the gardens themselves and the weddings which inhabit the space, were evocative and kept coming back to her. Her reaction was disbelief. She recalled viewing the current exhibition of previous art show posters, and it felt surreal to her that she now joins that body of artists. She considers it an honor and a privilege.
Chair Maureen Fendrick said she was impressed by the quality and diversity of work presented at the poster competition and exhibition in December. With the quality represented, she believed that the competition was intense. But in the final review, it was Monique Sarkessian’s skill with the alcohol ink process that prevailed. Maureen said, “We are pleased to have Monique represent our 50th Yellow Springs Art Show.”
Monique told us that her entry has been a “break-through piece” and has encouraged her to step out. It has inspired her to produce new pieces for the show that will stand out. She plans to exhibit several large floral pieces in the alcohol ink process at the show.
The original artwork will be up for silent auction during the first weekend of the 2023 Art Show in the Lincoln Building galleries. Proceeds from the auction benefit Historic Yellow Springs. We encourage you to view this original work as well as all of Monique Sarkessian’s work at the show. Remember, prints of the poster and notecards showing the poster image will be available for purchase.
Check out some of our previous winners
