These portraits are the result of 1 month of taking artistic freedom in a gigantic artstudio A mental health institution in the Netherlands offers 1 month residencies for international artists to add liveliness and interacction for and with the residents.   FUN FACT: Landpark Assisië is huge! It has over 200 residents, who not only live there, yet many of them also have jobs there. They take care of the animals, they serve at the restaurant or they paint on canvas!   And the project is all government funded! I was in total awe of how well these people were taken care of ..read more

These feminine art painting are perfect for decorating your walls Come and join me on a visit of my exhibition: “Acceptance of that what is” in Barcelona during August and September 2021. This exhibition of feminine art paintings in the heart of Barcelona addresses the issue of Accepting that we are so multifacetted and that it’s ok to use it or just leave it be. And that whichever choise we make: it’s all ok. Nowadays, we have so much access to learn. With the internet we can learn any skill (thank you you-tube!!!). We literally have the wisdom of centuries at our fingertips (keybo ..read more

How to take care of your original acrylic painting? It’s longevity starts out at the studio: One of the basic needs for prolonged conservation of an acrylic painting starts way before the artistic paint is applied: a proper support. My canvasses are all of natural fiber with at least 2 coats of gesso that is suitable for acrylic paints. The quality of the acrylic emulsion and it’s richness in pigments are also cue. I use only premium brands of paints, such as Vallejo Artist. It was a long time misunderstood fact that acrylic paintings don’t need a varnish for better preservation. Recent inve ..read more

If I can do this, you can too! Embodying female empowerment This is how I take out the 2nd and 3rd row of seats out of my Nissan NV200 Empowered art lady “Which bolts to unfasten to get that 3rd row of seats out of my Nv200 van?”That was my question that I had when I needed to get the van transformed from a 7 seater to a 2 seater. And I couldn’t find anything online. (I only found shakey video in German, that was filmed in low-res and with very little light!) Following my life mission: to serve and make this a more beautiful world, I decided I might as well film the process and upload it ..read more

(EDIT: THIS POST WAS WRITTEN IN 2014!) I used to enjoy blogging, but social media has made the one-way communication into a dialogue which I enjoy so much more.   Link to keep in contact through social media: Link to the old blog: http://www.moniquevansteen.com/_blog   screenshot of my old blog The post links to my artblog and social media first appeared on Feminine urban pop art portrait paintings ..read more

An artist’s philosophical thoughts on Ai generated art. My thoughts on Ai-generated images. Lately I’ve seen quite a few friends (mostly people who are self-employed and are getting their revenue by being present in the public eye) posting their Ai-generated self portraits on social media. They/these look awesome and frankly: quite enticing in their leveled-up surroundings and attributes (that go along with their branding). I can see why this is a new tool for their marketing. This Ai-generated image won at an art prize in the USA. www.nytimes.com Rather than to go into the ethical que ..read more

How to match Very Peri with original paintings in your interior design? Colour of the year 2022: Pantone describes Very Peri as “a dynamic periwinkle blue hue with a vivifying violet red undertone blends the faithfulness and constancy of blue with the energy and excitement of red”. So let’s see how we could be matching paintings with Pantone’s color of the year 2022: Very Peri “A New Pantone Color Whose Courageous Presence Encourages Personal Inventiveness And Creativity.” Who’s not up for that?!! Purples have always been on my color palette. Primary colors alone, (red, blue and yellow) ar ..read more

Art that empowers women By depicting evocative portraits of the female universe, my art celebrates and empowers women in all their deepness and swing. In my paintings, I let the cyclic inner feminine world of emotions, feelings and sensations be carried by the vehicle of the 2D world: colors, lines and subtle transitions. Some combinations are expressive and deep, others more subtle. view what happy clients said Yet all the images are created with well balanced flowing lines, colors and forms that result joyous to the soul. My paintings are consciously designed to transform ..read more