Monica Perez Vega

Contemporary Artist | My Life in Trees

Methuselah, 2023, acrylic and oil, 160x200cm


Bark Paintings II

Bark Paintings II

MonicaFeb 27, 20241 min read

More bark paintings- this time made from the pulpy by-product of the oak gall ink-making process. All painted with natural pigment, including oak gall ink. And this lil guy is made from the pulpy oak gall ink-making byproduct mixed with…

Acorn Husks

Acorn Husks

MonicaFeb 27, 20242 min read

…But is it pigment? Is it pigment if I say its pigment? It is a satisfyingly sludgy dark matter that spreads by brush. It dries grey on its own- like watching embers turn to ash, or paints a rich black…

Queen Elizabeth I Oak

Queen Elizabeth I Oak

MonicaFeb 4, 20241 min read

Yesterday I ventured out to West Sussex to meet an 800 year old (possibly 1,000 year old) sessile oak tree. The Queen Elizabeth I Oak is a large sessile oak in West Sussex, England. It has a girth of 12.5–12.8 metres (41–42 ft), and is about…

Placrylic

Placrylic

MonicaJan 25, 20244 min read

Part of my DYCP research is to find and test existing ‘sustainable’ paints and when I came across Placrylic, I immediately purchased their starter set, excited by the idea of plant-based sustainable acrylics. I admit, however, that I didn’t look…

Oak Gall Ink

Oak Gall Ink

MonicaJan 5, 20241 min read

My first attempt at making oak gall ink. Something I’ve wanted to try for ages. Knowing my parents go on walks nearly every day back home in California, I asked them (half-jokingly) to collect oak galls, acorn caps and wild…