Monica de Gastyne

Monica de Gastyne was born in Falls Church, Virginia May 14, 1984. She grew up in Springfield, Va with her three sisters and mother, lived inside the beltway for several years, and then settled with her husband in Burke. Monica keeps her maiden name for her artwork to honor the heratige from which her talents came. Monica\'s first art sales were under the slide at recess at Saratoga elementary. She was in the 1st grade. Since then, she has experimented with many different mediums before finally settling on acrylics. Monica participated in art classes throughout her school days, being influenced mostly by her high school teacher, who taught her to \"draw the light\". Using this approach, rather than drawing an object, Monica has a solid ability to draw anything she sees. After breaking for almost 10 years to pursue a family life, Monica began painting again. Her first works focus on her own body image portraying struggle through texture. Her portraits, creative and commissioned, keep this texture while leaning towards hyper realism.