some more time spent underwater

some more shots from under the sea, for your viewing pleasure - these have not been edited at all, the light is the way I found it.  All photos monica lacey 2014.

travels, news, and the light underwater

floating, Mallorca, Spain - monica lacey 2014

I've just returned from 2 weeks in Europe - Germany (Berlin & Hamburg) and Spain (Mallorca & Barcelona) and am feeling refreshed, relaxed, and inspired!  I love travelling and getting new perspectives - especially seeing art & design in other parts of the world.  Barcelona - though we only spent about 24 hours there - was especially inspiring, just filled to the brim with public art & incredible architecture. 

My favourite thing on the trip though, was shooting underwater - my husband gave me an underwater camera for my birthday this year & it has opened up a whole new way of seeing the world.  For ages I've loved ducking under the water & opening my eyes to see the light reflections & the sky through the surface - and now I can photograph it!  Incredibly exciting & I can't wait to keep shooting and experimenting with it.

hold your breath - photo by Devon Ross

In other great news I was recently selected for the Emerging Artist Award by the City of Charlottetown as part of their Arts Awards, just launched this year.  I'm so honoured by this & it's really encouraging to have the support of my community.  It's a busy month ahead in the studio, getting ready for different shows, but I'm looking forward to getting my teeth into the work.  Also, stay tuned for more shots from under the sea :-)

may flowers

orange nasturitum 2 - monica lacey 2014

 I'm pretty sure I have a problem:  I'm addicted to gardening.  Since the weather has started getting nice I can't seem to stay indoors, and when I'm outdoors I still want to be productive and putter around, so I've been landscaping the heck out of my yard!  It will give me some fodder for subject matter over the summer though.

These two nasturtium watercolours (they're both 22"x30") I did this month for a commission for a couple in NB - and I had to do them from photos because it's too early for nasturtiums!  I always prefer to work from life if I can, but it's not always possible because winter.

yellow nasturtium 2 - monica lacey 2014

Anyhow, Spring is sprung & it's brought all this great energy with it.  I'm working on a few short film/tv shoots here & there, and now that my grant applications are completed & delivered, I'm back in the studio to make some new work - that is when I can talk myself into being indoors!

And inspiration abounds - check out this amazing papercut artwork, the indescribable beauty of colour in this work, and this giant gorgeous mural called moonshine by Etam Cru:

April updates

Well I'm doing alright at this posting once-a-month thing!  Here's the news for this month:

I recently competed in Art Battle 114, here in Charlottetown at the PEI Brewing Company(which has a gorgeous new event space!).  It was a pretty interesting - and out-of-my-comfort-zone - experience to paint something in only 20 minutes in front of a huge crowd with dubstep beats blasting and an announcer barking into the mic!  Let's say it's very different than how I normally work in my studio...
A great experience though, and while practicing for it, I painted so many new pieces, which felt wonderful & productive.

me painting at art battle - photo credit Mo Duffy Cobb

I also just had 2 paintings purchased by the PEI Art Bank, very exciting!  The group show, Blooms, at Gallery 78, that I have some botanical paintings in, opened on April 11th in Fredericton - you can see most of the work in the show by following the link above.

Besides all that, I've been getting ready for this year's Art in the Open and another Gallery 78 show in October.  Great to be busy & have all this new energy with Spring being here - I can't wait to put my garden in!  

stuff & things - the March edition

Let's see, what's new...Nailed Magazine just published a photo series of mine called Couples on Couches, I finished my PEI 2014 commission, my crocus are up (see below), I wrote a catalogue essay for Alexis Bulman's exhibit at the small town Market Gallery, got interviewed about my Art in the Open 2014 project (read it here), and I'm feeling excited for summer.  That said, PEI is expecting 50 cm of snow in a couple of days....

if they can struggle through... - monica lacey 2014

February updates

I've been spending most of my time lately in the studio working on my commission for the PEI Sesquicentennial Art Program - you can read about it here.  It's coming along slowly, slowly...the pressure of an approaching deadline is certainly helping, and the fact that the weather is easing its icy grip on our necks a bit.  But only a bit.

storefront, toronto - monica lacey 2014

Having spent a week recently in Toronto, I'm full to the brink with new ideas and inspiration, huge ideas for huge projects, and it's largely due to seeing this show at The Power Plant.  I just had chills the whole time walking through it.  I'm so nuts about immersive installations - environments the viewer can actually enter, and be surrounded by... I feel driven to pursue that interest, though it's challenging to figure out how/where to begin.  I've also gotten really interested in the idea of using live people in installation work, and stumbled upon the artist Levi van Veluw who is doing some really wild versions of that idea - have a look.

I've also been inspired lately by some awesome music & music videos - check out Stromae.  This video above just blows me away.  This one by Local Natives is also pretty great:

new website!!

Hey, I just launched my new website - updated in many ways, including new work, check it out!
http://www.monicalacey.com/