I work in mixed media to create layered paintings that explore embodiment, feminist themes, and the psychology of healing.

Female figures in yoga poses appear throughout my work as archetypes rather than portraits: forms of introspection, tension, release, and negotiation.

These figures sit alongside plant shadows, vivid colour, and animal symbolism, reflecting the relationship between internal emotion and the external environments we move through.

My process begins in ritual. Journaling, meditation, and drawing help me settle into honesty before the first mark is made.

The emotional entry point is rarely calm; I often start painting after grief, anger, or overwhelm has cracked something open. Creating becomes the way I stay in my body, and the slow, layered method grounds me.

Artist Statement

My work sits at the intersection of feminism, embodiment, and emotional restoration. I’m interested in how women hold complexity, how healing moves through the body, and how art can mirror the quiet parts of ourselves we are still learning to accept.

What may appear playful on the surface often comes from the effort to reclaim joy after losing it.

These paintings are not about presenting a polished version of healing. They record the returning, the rebuilding, the moments of clarity that arrive after the hardest days.

At its core, my work creates space for pause. A breath. A moment of recognition. It is an invitation to return to yourself, to feel without explanation, and to meet the parts of your becoming that rarely get a voice.

Follow My Process On Instagram: @femartbymonica

Each painting is built through repeated acts of observation and adjustment. I think through every layer, stare for long stretches, and question every shift in texture, colour, or symbol.

Mixed media allows for playfulness when the emotional weight is heavy, giving me room to move between control and surrender. My mixed media work combines pencil crayon, ink, acrylic paint, collage, and moulding materials.  

Shadow work shapes the entire process, both emotionally and visually. Emotionally, it asks me to acknowledge the parts of myself I once avoided: anger, softness, grief, shame, fear, and the desire to feel whole.

Visually, it emerges through literal shadows, houseplant silhouettes, overlooked details, and forms that slip in and out of focus. The act of layering becomes a practice of integrating what’s hidden, transforming discomfort into a visual language.

Artist Bio

Monica Brinkman is a Hamilton-based artist who paints the part of her story that came after “I’m not doing this anymore.” Her textured, symbolic paintings reflect the moments she thought she carried alone: the shame-filled quiet undoing, the very slow returning, and the unsteady rise back into who she really is.

Born and raised in Sarnia, a small town in Ontario, Monica grew up without the constant hum of the internet or a smartphone. Creativity became her natural outlet, and her mother made sure it stayed that way. As the youngest of three with two older brothers, Monica was quietly handed what she now recognizes as feminist tools long before she had a word for them: have your own money, do what you love instead of what you’re told, and you’re allowed to say no.

Her mother and Nana, who moved in when Monica was six, also shared unfiltered stories about the way male co-workers, bosses, and strangers had treated them: near-abductions, violence at work, and everyday violations that still exist for women today. They did their best to prepare her, but Monica, like so many women, still encountered her own versions of those stories through co-workers, strangers, and partners.

Outside the canvas, Monica has been practicing yoga for over fourteen years and is currently training to become a yoga instructor. She also holds a double degree in Art and Accounting, a combination that reflects both her practical roots and her refusal to abandon what she loves. 

Through FeministArt.ca, Monica donates 15% of all sales to human rights causes, weaving activism into the structure of her practice rather than treating it as an afterthought. Beyond the studio, she’s an herbal tea enthusiast, passionate yogi, and devoted human to Olive Branch, the golden doodle who unofficially runs the space. Her work continues to resonate with collectors seeking emotionally intelligent art that doesn’t just decorate a room, but quietly supports the person standing in front of it.

Discover more on Monica’s Instagram: @femartbymonica

In 2019, at 26, she left an abusive relationship and the life that came with it. Starting again felt like beginning a second life inside the same body. During that time, Monica found herself in daily conversations with women, and a pattern became painfully clear: the facts of each story were different, but the themes were the same. Through the adversity of simply existing as a woman, she found a community of women who were tired, resilient, and still choosing to rise.

FeministArt.ca was born in 2022 out of that season of healing and re-rooting. Art became the place where Monica relearned her own voice, through layered colour, emotional honesty, and the freedom to get messy (literally and emotionally). Her sobriety deepened that process even further, trading old coping mechanisms for hours lost in her sketchbook, letting imagination become the escape that helped her heal instead of the habits that once numbed her.

MONICA BRINKMAN CV

270 Sherman Ave South, Shared Space 2.0, Hamilton, ON L8M 2R4

monica@feministart.ca

(905) 818-3561

Biography

Monica Brinkman is a mixed-media painter creating abstract Feminist art. She was educated at McMaster University, where she received her BFA. Monica continued her education at McMaster and received a second degree in Accounting. She lives and works in Hamilton, Ontario. She enjoys a shared studio space at The Cotton Factory and has shown her work in local group exhibitions in Hamilton.

Education

2018 Accounting Diploma, McMaster CCE, Hamilton, ON

2015 B.F.A: Studio Art, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON

Selected Group Exhibitions

2025 Emergence, Art Fair Hamilton Group Show

2025 New Beginnings, Women’s Art Association Of Hamilton (W.A.A.H)

2025 November 2025 Online Art Exhibition, W.A.A.H.

2025 Self-Portraits, Mixed Media Art Supplies and King West Books, Hamilton


Teaching Experience

2025 SEO for Creatives, workshop at The Cotton Factory


Press / Publications

2025 Artist Closeup Magazine: Interview With Monica Brinkman by Adelé Kotzé

2025 Art Fair Hamilton Magazine, highlighting the Emergence group show

2025 Article written in the Toronto Times: “Healing In Layers: Inside the work of Canadian Artist Monica Brinkman.”

Local Art Markets

2025 Doors Open Hamilton, open studio at The Cotton Factory, December 2025

2025 The Pun Rock Flea Market, Hamilton, December 2025

2025 Modo Yoga Christmas Market, Dundas, December 2025

2025 The Fall Market at The Vintage Venture, St. Catherines, September 2025

What Monica’s Art Collectors Are Saying…

Screenshot of a social media comment thread discussing Mona Lisa artwork. Comments include praise for Monica's art, mentioning texture and color, along with a picture of a woman holding a mug, black and white art, and another of a woman with a headset.

SOLD! ‘Manifest’

About This Painting

I wanted to make a female figure that didn’t look like anyone specifically but still embodied strong feminine energy.

Enjoy feeling strong but light and airy - in flow with the universe!

Fem Art Collector 5-Star Review, From Kathleen!

Kathleen claimed Manifest the moment she saw her. I truly think it was meant to be!

Collector 5-Star Review

“The texture and colours really pop in person and pictures don’t do the pieces justice.” -Kathleen

A colorful painting of a girl with long, flowing hair, lying on pink and purple clouds with a background of sky and clouds in pastel colors.
Back of a canvas art piece with a handwritten note and a metal wire for hanging, leaning against a wall. The note thanks Kathleen for supporting feminist art.
Close-up of a colorful abstract painting with pastel colors on a wall.
Screenshot of a three-person online review or testimonial with profile pictures, names, and their comments about paintings and art.

SOLD! ‘Heart-Minded’

About This Painting

I wanted to make a female figure that didn’t look like anyone specifically but still embodied strong feminine energy.

Enjoy feeling strong but light and airy - in flow with the universe!

Fem Art Collector 5-Star Review, From Kathleen!

“Monica’s customer service and attention to detail is a 10/10!! I purchased two 12x12 canvas paintings and they are absolutely stunning!

I’m incredibly happy with my interactions and will be keeping an eye out for further pieces available!

Side note: Monica also writes the sweetest notes on the back of her paintings, custom to each purchase. Really personalizes each piece!!” -Kathleen

A colorful painting of a heart with veins and arteries extending downward, flying in a blue sky with white clouds.
An embroidery art piece with black thread on beige fabric. It features a handwritten message thanking Kathleen for donating a feminist art collection, wishing joy, healing, and empowerment. The message is signed with a heart and the name Monica. At the top of the image, there is a partial view of a twisted black thread.
Painting of a red heart with roots extending from it, set against a sky with clouds.
Screenshot of a social media comment section with profile pictures and comments praising artwork, featuring a woman with a wide smile, another in a yoga pose, and a third showing a woman sitting on a yoga mat outdoors.

CONTEST PRIZE ‘Fem Art Looks Like’

About This Drawing

This Is What Feminist Art Looks Like is a reminder that healing is messy and disorienting as much as it is peaceful. I attempted to visually integrate a serene moment of inner peace with a disorienting memory of the past or rumination.

Feminist Art Collector

Alex won this painting in one of my Instagram free art giveaways! We met for coffee and had a great conversation together. I will definitely have another contest soon.

Fem Art Collector 5-Star Review, From Alex!

“Monica clearly has passion and creativity. Her work demonstrates the world from a female feminist lens, and I truly appreciate her artistry…”

— Alex, Art Collector from Ontario

A mixed media artwork combining illustration and collage features a woman and a girl with long hair, both wearing glasses, amidst a surreal landscape of trees, birds, and fragmented shapes. The upper part depicts a woman’s face in profile with abstract shapes and branches. The middle section shows two birds, one yellow and one blue, perched on tree branches. The lower section has a girl with long hair, wearing glasses, and a person’s torso with a rope around their waist, surrounded by geometric fragments and abstract lines. Signed by Monica.
An abstract illustration of a forest scene with trees, birds, and a rabbit, depicted in a stylized, geometric art style with earthy tones and broken, angular shapes.
A wooden box covered with abstract black and white artwork.
Social media comments about feminist art by Monica, featuring profile pictures of three people, Kathleen, Lucas, and Janel.

SOLD! ‘Moonlight Dancing’

About This Painting

Inspired by themes of new beginnings, adventure, & an abundance. This whimsical painting is my attempt to combine playful curiosity with the in-your-face experience of holding onto anger, or not feeling able to forgive & let go (represented by the colour red).

Fem Art Collector 5-Star Review, From Lucas and Cass!

“I got the painting delivered literally the very next day and I’m super psyched with it! It matches my theme in my living room and it look so amazing! She did such a great job! Couldn’t ask for anything better, honestly. Monica is just so talented, over all! Thank you, thank you!! Xo -Cassandra

“AMAZING!! Got this beauty work of art from Monica. i love the moody piece and hope to buy more.” -Lucas

Painting of two white rabbits among tall grass with a large full moon in the night sky, dark clouds, and a few stars in the background.
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Painting of white rabbits under a full moon with dark sky, red and black landscape, and mushrooms.
Back of a wooden framed canvas with handwritten message in purple and black ink. The message in purple reads, 'CASSANDRA, I am so happy this painting has a home. Enjoy! ♥ Monica.' The black handwritten text mentions a mixed media painting called 'Dancing in the Moonlight,' created in 2023, inspired by a reminder to be playful and curious, signed by the artist Monica.
Woman practicing yoga in tree pose, standing on one leg, arms raised, smiling, in front of a wall with a painting and a letter W.

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