La Mesa pastel artist paints with fearless color

With every stroke of the color pastels she uses, Monique Straub paints flowers, trees, even buildings in luxuriant light. Her style, sometimes resembling Van Gogh’s work in her giddy swirls of sun and clouds and flower petals, evokes nothing less than joy. 

With every stroke of the color pastels she uses, Monique Straub paints flowers, trees, even buildings in luxuriant light. Her style, sometimes resembling Van Gogh’s work in her giddy swirls of sun and clouds and flower petals, evokes nothing less than joy. 

Since junior high school, this La Mesa resident has been painting and drawing where she created banners and flyers. She loves all things botanical as a result of summers with her grandmother. Straub said that her grandmother was a talented costume designer and tailor by trade.

“I was lucky to grow up surrounded by beautifully colored fabrics and bold patterns since childhood,” she said. “Grandma’s influence was also passed on to my mother, who decorated my childhood home with flamboyance and fearless color.”

Working in pastels came about through a unique gift for Straub. For years, she had worked in watercolor, until one year her in-laws gave her a vintage set of Grumbacher pastels.

“Once I took a test drive with all those beautiful colors, I’ve never looked back,” she said.

The learning curve was difficult, she said. Mostly, she taught herself. She had an opportunity of working with a master pastellist in a week-long plein air class. The Pastel Society of America awarded her the class through its scholarship program. 

For a long while, Straub worked in her La Mesa home. But with all the interruptions from phone calls and miscellaneous errands, she knew she had to transfer to her own studio. For twelve years she showed her work in Spanish Village. But she tired of having to split her working space between her home studio and Spanish Village. Needing to expand her working space into one location, she researched the various artist studio communities and found Liberty Station.

“I love the light in the studio there,” Straub said. 

Straub uses her La Mesa home office for all of her framing, shipping and marketing. Her day generally starts around 6:00 a.m. when she sits down with a cup of tea and her IPad.  She updates her blog and social media posts. Next, she wraps and boxes paintings for shipping and updates her inventory and accounting lists. Around midmorning, she heads to her Liberty Station studio for the day.

Just before the dinner hour, Straub heads back home to La Mesa to photograph new paintings, launch more blog and social media posts. Then she cooks dinner for her husband. 

Sometimes during the weekends, Straub goes to Mission Trails Park, which is one of her favorite places to paint.

“I’ve shown my work several times in the beautiful gallery there, and it feels like home.  I also love Lake Murray,” she said.

Occasionally Straub tries to paint on the spot outdoors. Some of her favorite plein-air locales are Mt. Helix, Harbison Canyon and the road to Sycuan Casino.

“For years I walked my dog up and down Mt. Helix Drive every morning,” she said. “The seasons are so beautiful from the top, peering through the eucalyptus trees.”

While painting with pastels is a joy that Straub would not give up, she has had to make some sacrifices.

“Manicured fingernails, panty hose, dress suits, patent leather pumps,” she said.

Paid health insurance is another thing she’s had to give up, but so are “grumpy bosses.” In choosing to become an artist, Straub said she also has a flexible schedule for when her family needs me. “I’ve become a curiosity at cocktail parties,” she said.

For Straub, painting is not a hobby. 

“It’s how I make my car payment and put a bit of food on the table,” she said. “I’m lucky to also own a small business with my husband, and split my time between that and my art business. If it’s just a hobby, I would recommend staying home, it’s much cheaper. Other than that, you only have three choices: work hard, marry rich, or find a sponsor. The financial considerations are huge.”

Becoming a member of professional arts organizations does help, Straub said. In the 1990s, she was a member of both the East County and Foothills Arts Associations. The groups gave her the opportunity to exhibit her work to the public for the first time as well as exhibit in juried shows where she won her first awards. 

“Memberships in local artist associations are often the valuable first step for many artists to move from hobbyist into the world of creating work to sell,” she said.  

Straub says there is still something she wishes she could have as an artist in East County.

“I would love to see a professional juried arts show in downtown La Mesa, similar to the show they have on Girard Street in La Jolla,” she said.

In the meantime, Straub invites people to drop by her studio at Barracks 19 in Liberty Station. See more at ww.moniquestraub.blogspot.com.