Artist Biography: Stacie Monday is a contemporary artist from Tulsa, OK, currently based in Dallas TX. She began painting in 2014 and her primary medium is acrylics. The purpose of her work is to celebrate African American women and to be an activist in her community. Her work includes her individual struggles, experiences, and lessons learned as a Black woman in America. Monday promotes positive narratives of Black women and paints to change the negative views and stereotypes they face through storytelling and advocating for both visible and equitable representation in culture. Stacie has exhibited her work in many shows across the country. In 2018, she won 3rd place in acrylic art at the Lenora Rolla Black History Month show. Monday was also a partcipating artist for the Affirmations Art Show at the South Dallas Cultural Center and had a residency and solo exhibition at Sunset Art Studios. She also completed two murlas, one at the Bath House Cultural Center in Dallas and the other at Mag and May luxury apartments in Fort Worth, TX. Monday's work was on display at the African American Museum of Dallas.
I started following Stacie Monday late 2017 and have enjoyed both building an artistic relationship and watching her art trascend different platforms, audiences, and generations. Her story is one of transparency of herself as a woman, mother, and artist that we are honored to share. What inspired the direction of your art and how did that inspiration play a role in finding your artistic voice? It was a spiritual for me – something that God told me to do so I did it. When I first started, I felt I could only paint Jesus, Bible scriptures, and things of that nature since this is something God called me to do. I pretty much painted myself in this box and felt stuck. So in 2016, I started going to therapy. My therapist helped set me free in a way. I always wanted to paint for the black community, especially black women, because that’s not something I saw a lot of growing up in Oklahoma. She helped me understand that uplifting my own community and did not go against what God wants me to do. So from then on, I really got started in finding my art direction. I always struggled expressing myself verbally so painting became a way to set myself free and express all the things I wanted to say – my story. I love that you were called to paint and I commend you for seeking therapy. Could you speak to your artistic training and background? How did you improve your skill and technique? I took one semester of Drawing in college and it really broke down how to do anything else. That’s the only formal education I have. We drew still lifes the entire semester. It taught me about lighting and shading. Once I learned how to draw, I was able to go from there and learned how to paint from YouTube from artists such as, Eric Francis, who teaches multiple techniques on how to blend, use different materials, etc. I think that artists should learn how to draw before they paint to get a solid foundation first. Yes, drawing is a good foundation, especially if you're interested in more realsim artwork. So you're a full-time artist, mother, and wife. How has being a mother influenced your art? For one thing, it inspires me to keep going. I want to show my daughter that there’s a different way to be successful and you don’t have to choose the conventional path. It’s important for her to be exposed to the art world because many of us don’t get to see that. And when she started school, she really struggled with her identity. She had white friends and wanted to look like them, have her hair like theirs, etc. That inspired me to continue painting black women so she has something that looks like her too. Being a mom amplifies everything because I don’t want to fail. I have to make sure that I do everything. Sometimes it’s a lot to
Artist Stacie Monday with her paintings Invisible Chains (left) and Numbers (right). 14
deal with, especially in the world we live in lately, but I have to keep going for her.
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