Monica Smart

Monica Smart Contemporary Artist based in Manchester, UK
Oil painter inspired by nature to creating calm, personal homes

I think we sometimes feel like we need the right words before we’re allowed to really love a piece of art.We want to und...
07/09/2026

I think we sometimes feel like we need the right words before we’re allowed to really love a piece of art.

We want to understand what it means, how it was made, or why it works.

I love knowing those things too. But I don’t think they have to come first.

Sometimes a painting simply stops you.

It reminds you of somewhere. Changes the atmosphere of a room. Or contains one tiny detail you find yourself noticing again and again.

I think the art we choose to live with should feel personal — not like something we chose because somebody else told us it was the right thing to have.

The connection can come before the explanation. 💙

04/09/2026

The slightly terrifying middle of a painting. 😂🌻

The sunflower field is finally starting to emerge, but right now, nothing quite belongs together yet.

This is the stage where I have to stop looking at every flower, colour and mark individually and trust that all those layers I’ve been building will eventually become one painting.

There’s still so much depth, detail and oil paint to come, but I’m starting to see the field I had in my head appear on the canvas. 💙

And yes… when the canvas is five feet wide, the ugly stage feels rather large too. 😂

I’m excited to show you what happens next.

02/09/2026

Eight paintings left my studio today… and found themselves a new home for a little while. 🎨💙

I spent part of today hanging a little collection of my original paintings at EZ Café & Bar in Altrincham, alongside work from other local artists.

There’s something so lovely (and still slightly surreal!) about seeing paintings that I’m used to having around my studio suddenly out in the world, becoming part of a space where people can discover them completely by chance.

If you’re local, pop into EZ Café & Bar for a coffee or a drink and have a little look while you’re there. ☕️🥂 All eight originals are available to purchase.

And now I have some suspiciously empty spaces in my studio… which I suppose means I’d better get painting. 😂

31/08/2026

The part of a painting you’ll probably never see in the finished piece. 🌻

Before I start building the sunflowers, leaves and all those tiny details, I create a loose underpainting — layers of colour, texture and marks that will eventually sit underneath everything else.

Most of this will be covered. Some of it might disappear completely.

But I love letting little glimpses of these early layers survive through the finished painting. They’re part of what gives my work its depth, texture and slightly unpredictable quality.

This is the beginning of a five-foot sunflower commission, and after all that preparation, I’m finally ready to start turning these abstract layers into a field. 🌻

There’s a lot still to come with this one.

28/08/2026

I’ve been keeping a rather big project quiet over here. 🌻

A little while ago, I was commissioned to create a 60 × 36 inch sunflower painting for a new restaurant — one of the largest commissions I’ve taken on so far.

And this was day one.

Before any colour went down, I covered the canvas in modelling paste to start building the texture that will eventually sit underneath the entire sunflower field.

It’s come quite a long way since this was filmed (although we’re currently going through a slightly questionable trust the process stage 😂), so I thought it was time I started bringing you along.

There is a LOT of painting still to come. 🌻

I’ll show you where we’re at next.

27/08/2026

Sometimes the smallest details hold the most feeling.

In Together, We Dance, it’s these two little seals amongst all that open space.

They take up such a tiny part of the painting, but somehow they change the whole feeling of it for me.

I think that’s part of what I love about nature too. The moments that stay with us aren’t always the biggest or most dramatic ones.

Sometimes it’s two little figures in a huge landscape that make you stop for a second. 💙

Together, We Dance is now available as a fine art print.

What did your eye go to first?

26/08/2026

I was going to post about art today, but this feels more important.

I’ve always loved Dolly Parton, not only for what she created, but for what she chose to do with her success.

She dreamed enormously, built an extraordinary life, and somehow never seemed to lose sight of where she came from or the people she could help along the way.

As someone still trying to build a creative life of my own, I find that incredibly inspiring.

Dream big. Work hard. Create the life you want.

And if you’re lucky enough to make it, reach back and bring other people with you.

What a legacy. 💙

24/08/2026

They’re live! 💙

After months of scanning, colour matching, ordering samples and testing sizes, my new fine art print collection is officially here.

I’ve chosen some of my favourite paintings to reproduce as fine art prints, with more sizes and framing options available this time.

These paintings were created around those little moments in nature that make us pause — and I love the idea of them becoming part of your homes.

Available framed or unframed in multiple sizes.

Explore the collection at monicasmart.art — link in bio. 🌿

Which one would you choose?

I don’t think the most beautiful homes are the most perfect ones.They’re the ones that tell you something about the peop...
23/08/2026

I don’t think the most beautiful homes are the most perfect ones.

They’re the ones that tell you something about the people who live there.

Books they’ve actually read.
Things brought home from somewhere they loved.
Art chosen because it meant something.

Not because everything matched.

I’d choose personal over perfect every time.

And maybe that’s part of why I’ve loved creating this new print collection — the idea that one of these paintings might eventually become one of those little pieces of someone else’s home.

They finally launch tomorrow. 💙

What in your home tells a little piece of your story?

🌿

21/08/2026

My fine art prints just got a serious upgrade. 👀

I’ve spent the last few months scanning and colour matching my original paintings, ordering samples, testing sizes and making sure the finished prints feel true to the artwork.

This time, there’ll be more sizes, framing options and more of my paintings to choose from — so it’s much easier to find something that works in your home.

And on Monday, they’re finally launching. 💙

Which painting are you hoping to see in the collection?

🌿

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