Meet The Enchanted Visions Artists – Monika Holloway

It’s Week 3 of our Meet The Enchanted Visions Artists.  This week we meet the delightful

Monika Holloway




Who is, Monika Holloway?  Tell us a little about yourself.

I’m a self taught fantasy/fairy artist working mainly with watercolour and coloured pencil. I tried other mediums and other genres (landscapes, surrealism) but somehow I always end up going back to my little enchanted world full of fairies, unicorns, gnarled trees and other strange creatures.
I’m also a violinist, a book lover and most importantly a mother to three very cute but also very demanding children.

How did you hear about Enchanted Visions and why did you want to become a member artist?

The first time I heard about EV was over two years ago, when I stumbled across it on Facebook. I was a complete newbie in the fantasy art world but I contacted the admins bravely asking what are the terms on which I could join. I was told to submit my work to the public gallery – every month existing EV members would choose one artist from the public gallery to become one of them. I tried for three months – it was a “third time lucky” for me – my “Winter Lullaby” had the majority of votes in January 2013 and I’ll never forget how happy and proud I felt when I found out I became a member of EV. That sense of pride stayed with me to this day – I feel very privileged and honoured to be a part of this fantastic collaboration.

Each month, Enchanted Visions artists are challenged with creating a piece of art for that month’s theme.  Please share some of the art you have created for Enchanted Visions with us.  For each piece of art, please describe how it interprets that month’s theme, any story behind the art, and the theme’s meaning to you.

Winter Lullaby by Enchanted Visions Artist Monika Holloway
Winter Lullaby by Enchanted Visions Artist Monika Holloway

“Winter Lullaby” – this was the piece which helped me to become a member of EV so it always will be quite special for me. I used a photograph of my oldest son Gabriel (three at the time) to paint this mischievous pixie having a nap on top of a mushroom and I think that picture depicts my little man’s personality quite well. Wouldn’t risk waking him up when he’s asleep…

Secrets of The Deep Sea by Enchanted Visions Artist Monika Holloway
Secrets of The Deep Sea by Enchanted Visions Artist Monika Holloway

“Secrets of the Deep Sea” (for “Dreaming on Aquamarine Tides” theme) –  I had a vision of this mysterious mermaid living deep down in the sea, carrying her treasure back to her home. Startled by the viewers unexpected presence she freezes momentarily, not sure what to do. With her face lit up by the glowing orb she’s carrying she stares at us, trying to decide…

Frustration by Enchanted Visions Artist Monika Holloway
Frustration by Enchanted Visions Artist Monika Holloway

“Frustration” – this drawing is all about reality not being able to match one’s expectations. It’s about the disappointment and frustration which comes when you realise you’ve been living with your head in the clouds for a bit too long.

EV has a monthly auction of the work created.  Do you sell your work there?

Yes, certainly. As you might know I’m an admin at Monthly Fantasy Art Auctions – I run the group for about 18 months now I auction my work there among other fantasy artists. When one of the EV admins suggested we should join forces I quickly agreed – I loved the idea of our auction group working together with EV. I really enjoy hosting EV auctions and I hope I’ll be able to do that for many months to come.

Are there challenges knowing you are one of many artists creating art for the same EV theme?  Does this knowledge hinder you or give you momentum when creating for the monthly theme?

For me being able to see all those gorgeous pieces other artists create every month is extremely motivating and if anything it always pushes me to try my best. The only challenge for me is finding enough time – because I’m a slow painter I often struggle to finish my pieces before the deadline.

Is art your profession, your passion or both?

Art is definitely my passion, but it’s also slowly becoming my profession mainly because I recently had to quit my day job (childcare problems) and now I rely on my art income to pay bills. I was always afraid that when I start producing art every day, start working on it not just when I have a spare minute or when my muse strikes, but really start working on it regularly with a finished product in mind, that this might affect the way I think and feel about it. But nothing like that happened, maybe because I love what I do, because I love to create, to be creative.

Describe (and provide a photograph if you like) of your studio/work space.   What would you change about it, if anything, for it to become your dream work space?

I’m afraid I haven’t really got a studio. My work space consists of two boxes filled with art supplies and a drawing board which I hold on my lap while I paint/draw. I mostly work on my art my my living room while keeping an eye on my kiddies – I couldn’t just disappear upstairs in my studio (if I had one that is), that just wouldn’t be possible. So I paint whenever and wherever I can, hoping one day if we move to a bigger house I will have a proper studio which I can fill with all my treasures and art supplies.

“Paint” a picture of yourself for us using 10 colorful words to describe you, the total picture.

Passionate, caring, driven, stubborn, calm, creative, curious (one can call it nosy), perfectionist, listener, strong willed.

Thank you so much Monika for this wonderful look into your creative process, your art and you.


“““““““““““““““““““““““
Please visit ENCHANTED VISIONS to see more of  Monika’s art and what she has created for the latest theme.


If you would like to see more of Monika’s art, you can find her at the following links:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Monika-Holloway-Fantasy-Art/160979387320432
https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/monikaholloway
Posted in artist feature, artist interview, Enchanted Visions, Friday Art Feature and tagged , , .

9 Comments

  1. Beautiful interview, Monika. What a pretty lady you are! Your beauty is so fittingly channeled into your artwork.

    I really enjoyed reading your thoughts behind the artwork you produced.

    Good fortune to you always! <3

Comments are closed.