Monica Koster Art

I recently had the pleasure of illustrating the junior fiction novel, 'Journey Through the Cat Door' written by Belinda O'Keefe. I designed and painted the book cover, and created ten or so sketches which are interspersed throughout the novel. CLICK HERE TO ORDER WITH BATEMAN BOOKS!  

  'Memory' This painting is inspired by an old photo of my great grandmother and her siblings. I was drawn to it; it’s exciting to be able to view a memory that is not my own, of family members I have never met. Wondering if the building in the photo still existed, caused me to think about the different rates memories and material objects fade. In the painting, where the environment/structure behind the figures is static, the figures are scraped across it; blurred. The way each layer is treated reflects how permanent they are as a memory, and how memories distort and fragment over time. Although changing gradually over time, the environment always exists; the horizon remains a rugged line. Buildings become dilapidated, disappearing into the ground over time, however tend to stay longer than people who inevitably die and then only exist in photographs as memories. As their physical beings are removed from the world, they are wiped across the canvas; leaving behind memories, flee

  'Circus Troupe' This painting is made up of three random reference images, including a black and white circus troupe photo, a glowing jelly fish, and a plastic bag. I used the group of people as the base of my image, and painted them using the glowing colours of the jellyfish against a dark background. Like how a plastic bag flies away in the wind, the figure's faces are swiped across the surface. This project was challenging, but enjoyable.

Entangled (Reflection) This painting depicts a tangled web of strings hung and reflected across a mirror. It is displayed in portrait orientation within the installation which it is based on.  Some strings are painted realistically, where some are as blurred as the camera or eye would see up close. Some strings carelessly tangle across the canvas, where others are linear and taut. Some lines have more weight, and others have more linseed oil and vary in opacity. These contrasts create ambiguity of the lines. There is also ambiguity in what is  being reflected and what isn't. Some strings travel through the frame from the picture plane edge, but then end at the edge of the reflection on the other side, whereas others are reflected realistically.  The mirror provides a portal into the hidden chaos. You are looking at a reflection of a specific area within the 'web', so may get the sense you are catching a glimpse of something private, or behind the scenes. The painting is dis

  Blurred I, II, III, IV , 2020, Acrylic on paper This set of paintings explores ideas around what happens when a musician is 'lost' in the moment while playing.  Everything around you is blurred; your sole focus on your instrument and the music, reflected in the way these musicians are painted. BUY PRINTS HERE!

'Consumed' I am in the concert band and jazz band, and find humour in the fact that the musicians within them take on the names of their instruments. For example, the conductor addresses the saxophonists as saxes, likewise flautists are known as flutes; trumpet players as trumpets.  I often find myself overwhelmed in the consistent practice, other elements of my life suppressed by the need to play. The musician breathes life into the instrument in order for it to sing, but sometimes I draw comparisons to a ventilator, the instrument allowing the musician to breathe, suffocating without it. I decided to take these ideas, and explore how the instrument consumes the musician; the lines blurred between who is playing who. Through these ideas there is a contrast created between the instrument’s enabling effects, and the destruction it can cause. When viewing this painting, one is left to decide whether the instrument creates her death, or replaces her lungs.