They may look like intimate snapshots, but these astonishing artworks were hand painted by a New York artist.
Alyssa Monks’ paintings are beyond photographic realism. She takes up to 1,000 photographs to use as colour references for her paintings and often paints herself rather than models to capture a disarming intimacy.
Monks’ paintings are of a representational narrative genre, portraying a specific place and time with both empathy and detachment.
Monks teaches flesh painting at the New York Academy of Art. She has been awarded the Grant for Painting from the Elizabeth Greensheilds Foundation three times and has had recent solo shows in New York and California.
