Welcome!

Monica Marquez Gatica

:: Artist Biography ::

Monica is a fine art oil painter, born in Jerez, Spain and living in Aurora, Colorado. Using a mixture of oil pigments, she developed a signature style of realistic paintings  - born from blending vivid imagery, with her own ideas to create a new energetic rendition. Monica explores many underlying themes in her paintings and believes the most important parts are the visual properties, the details of life itself, which also provides endless inspiration. 

With a background in interior and exterior design, Monica developed her fine art painting skills over years of practice and self-study. Her varied styles and exploration of painting techniques make each work a new visual discovery, all the while keeping true to short smooth brush strokes, and blending colors through multiple layers. Being from Europe and married to a US Navy sailor (now a veteran), she has traveled extensively, broadening her cultural exposure and creative understanding.

Monica comes from a family of artists (musicians, dancers, & painters) and in 2013 a family member asked if she could "paint something" from Spain (typical wine glasses or Flamenco dancers), for his new restaurant. That spark launched new path as an artist. After those initial paintings she kept studying, learning, and painting for several more years. In 2016, she decided to make fine art a new career, dedicating long hours in the studio, and continuously striving to improve her quality & technique. That tenant remains true even to this day. In 2018, Monica was accepted as an Oil Painters of America – Associate Member. She also was a national finalist for the Bombay Sapphire Artisan services and invited to SCOPE Miami Beach in December. Monica expresses the beautiful detailed world around us, and transforms those details that many times we forget to observe.