Local girl is more than happy
By Shari Kaplan
More than Happy is more than just the title of Peninsula artist and former Los Gatan Rachel Monday's latest exhibition. It also describes the way she feels about her favorite--and for this art show, her only--painting topic.
That topic is animals.
The 1988 Los Gatos High School graduate, now a Burlingame resident says that growing up in Los Gatos, and before that in Southern California, her love of art was second only to her love for her furry and finned friends.
"My mom was an art student at UCLA and sometimes she'd take me to art classes, where I would draw and paint," Monday says of a favorite childhood memory. Her mother, Anna Monday, still lives in Los Gatos, as did her family before her.
"I was always bringing animals home when I was young. They've always been the light of my life," adds Monday, who "officially" had one dog, four cats, assorted fish and even a small frog while growing up.
After obtaining a bachelor's degree in studio art from UC-Santa Barbara, Monday returned to the Bay Area and began working in the office of a veterinary surgery practice.
"I really wanted to incorporate animals into my work. I've always painted on the side, but I had to have a 'day job,' " she says, chuckling. "One day a nurse asked me to do a portrait of her dog as a present for her husband, and soon everyone was asking me to paint pictures of their pets."
Along with her painting endeavors and her "day job," Monday also runs Monday Media, a web-based graphic arts business for which she designs websites, logos, newsletters, animation and marketing materials for various companies. She also used Monday Media to produce Art2Net, her online artists' collective. A sample of some of her More than Happy series is now available online at www.art2net.net. She is also debuting new works at Menlo Park's Animal Art Gallery.
Although all of her brightly colored oil-on-canvas portraits are based on photographs her family, friends and clients give her of their dogs and cats, Monday says she likes to meet the animals in person as well, if possible.
The inspiration for one of her favorite paintings, Winston and Happy, came during an informal get-together with her dog-owning friends at Peet's Coffee in Los Gatos. Although dwarfed by Winston, one of several Harlequin Great Danes owned by Los Gatos' Harwin family, Monday's Boston terrier Happy pranced around as if he was top dog. When he took a break, Monday captured it on film, and later, on canvas.
Most of the portraits in her exhibit--cats are also included--are done for pet owners who wanted to honor a loved animal during its lifetime or remember one that has died. Many people also have Monday paint pet portraits as one-of-a-kind birthday or Christmas presents.
"The biggest joy of doing this is the reaction I get from people when they say that I've really captured the personality of their dog or cat," Monday says.
More than Happy is on display through July 29, at the Animal Art Gallery, 520 Santa Cruz Ave. in Menlo Park. A reception takes place July 13. For information, call 650.325.5671, or visit www.art2net.net on the Internet.
|
Los Gatos, California Since 1881
