Monica Dougherty

Artist • Author • Art Therapist

About Monica

My Creative Journey

Drawing • Painting • Writing

About Monica

Monica Dougherty


monica doughertyMonica is an artist, art therapist, author and teacher. After a few years working in TV production she left the bright lights of New York City and returned home to Chicago to follow new dreams. Along the way there were countless jobs as a temp secretary to pay the bills as she pursued a freelance art career. After fulfilling her biggest dream – becoming a mother – she went on to become an art therapist, author and art teacher. In her role as an art therapist she has worked with pre-school, elementary and high school students.

She also works at a facility which provides services for adults with intellectual, physical and developmental disabilities, offering creative opportunities for enhanced self-esteem, for the expression of feelings, for stimulating a sense of joy and supplying opportunities for success. She is a published author and creator of The Laughing Angels©, a whimsical and merry group of beings who inspired her first book, You’re A Miracle…Pass It On!

awardwinnerShe is also in the process of pitching her feature film script based on her historical novel, Rose’s Ring: Inheritors of Silence and Secrets, and you can read all about it by pressing Enter above. In May the script won Best Historical Drama at the Cambridge Script Festival!

When not working you can find her happily creating, listening to old radio programs, binging on favorite movies, and TV shows, spending time with her family and, with her band of Spirit Sisters,

Image Gallery

In preparing for real life, I lost my connection to art for a long while and am now on a journey of reconnection and remembering! As a child I drew always and everywhere. A new box of crayons was a delight each year and I remember many happy hours drawing outside during the long summer days. Unfortunately, fourth grade was the beginning of more homework and less drawing and so it continued. Took many detours and began a process that went on for years –a complete split between the art that fed my soul and doing what was needed to prepare for life. Until I found art therapy and angels and reconnected to the joy of creating!

DRAWINGS
Graphite drawings of family, past and present!

PEN & INK

BOOK ILLUSTRATIONS 
Past, Present and Future!

PAINTING Watercolor

PAINTING Acrylic

PAINTING Resin
New in the age of the Pandemic. This was an experiment with resin painting. As I was doing them it occurred to me that it perfectly described what we are at present (2020) living through. There are some things we can control, but much that we can’t. In these paintings you can control the colors you use and how you manipulate the canvas as the colors mixed with resin are poured on, but the paint makes its own decisions! And when it dries, the image is encased in a hard covering of resin, much like we have been encased in our quarantine spots. But…there is beauty in the imagery. And I believe we are finding beauty in our world in the kindnesses, sacrifices and help that’s being offered. We may not all be in the same boat, but we are all going through the Quarantine together!

Contact Get in touch with us