Monika Wiley

My passion is capturing intimate human experiences with paint.

I often am focused on the female form and reclaiming our nude bodies as our own. I want every woman to feel empowered to hang a nude portrait on their wall, free of judgement. Seeing yourself within a painting is a feeling many women do not ever feel in their lifetime. To see the rolls of our bodies made up of brushstrokes can help us start to see our own features as beautiful marks of a painting.

If not figurative painting, I look towards moments around me for inspiration. The landscape around me, my cats, my nieces and nephews, and any moment that sparks inspiration.

I find joy painting. for others just as much as for myself as well. Pet portraits to memorialize a lost family member or simply painting from a reference photo to capture a moment in time. To help someone gather their love towards someone or some thing within paint. It is always an honor to be a part of, and to bring the moment back each time it is seen on their wall.

Monika Wiley received her Bachelor's of Fine Arts degree from Iowa State University. During her time there, she studied abroad at the Lorenzo de Medici Institute in Florence, Italy. There she completed an intermediate painting course and studied the work of the masters.

2020 Ground Zero Exhibit, Iowa State University

2020 Apex Student Juried Exhibit, Iowa State University