12x12, acrylic ink on wood panel
 
Monique Belitz was born in Utrecht, the Netherlands. She is a graduate of the Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich (BFA) and the University of New Mexico ( MFA). She fell in love with the Southwest decades ago and was able to move here permanently in 2018. Much of her work is a celebration of the joy and privelege of living in a place that you belong.
 
These colorful pieces utilize a process combining painting and drawing with acrylic ink (a loose acrylic medium that comes in a jar and is applied with a fine dip-pen) on wooden cradled boards. They are mental “snapshots” of the ever changing quality of light, color and mood of vistas and interior landscapes Belitz observes. Applying an innovative sequence of techniques, she first blocks in the main shapes with a brush, then uses pen and ink to overlay the painting with patterns describing various surface qualities in fine detail.