Title: Skies of Blue
Artist: Monique Sakellarios
Medium and Materials: Oil on Masonite
Dimensions: 5" x 7"
Skies of Blue is a luminous miniature landscape that brings the color and atmosphere of a New England summer to an intimate 5" x 7" format. A winding blue river, golden marsh grasses, dense woodland, and pink hollyhocks create a richly textured scene with warmth, depth, and quiet visual energy.
Description
In Skies of Blue, internationally acclaimed impressionist painter Monique Sakellarios creates a light-filled landscape on a compact horizontal panel. Stacked passages of flowers, water, marsh, and woodland guide the eye into the distance. Pink hollyhocks and mint-green stalks rise in thick, unblended impasto at lower left, balanced by a sloping bank of sun-warmed chartreuse and ochre grasses.
A serpentine river sweeps through the center in broad strokes of periwinkle, lavender, and cerulean, reflecting the expansive sky above. Beyond the water, moss green, deep olive, and copper dabs define a marshy spit and dense grove, while pale lavender-gray and periwinkle open the sky above softly receding hills. Vigorous mark-making, sculptural texture, and a carefully balanced warm-and-cool palette give this small original painting remarkable depth and presence.
Style and Composition
Artistic style: Contemporary Impressionism with lyrical plein-air realism and New England Tonalism.
Composition: A horizon-led arrangement of foreground flowers, reflective river, marsh, and distant forest creates a strong sense of recession within the compact format.
Focal point: Bright pink-and-white hollyhocks in the lower-left quadrant stand out against the deep cobalt water and dark green riverbank.
Color palette: Periwinkle, cobalt, and lavender blues are balanced by chartreuse and moss greens, golden ochres, blossom pinks, and subtle amber accents.
Lighting and atmosphere: Bright summer daylight filters through high clouds, casting glints across the water and creating a fresh, warm, and nostalgic countryside mood.
Materials and Technique
Brushwork and mark-making: Short impasto ridges and unblended dabs define the flowers and foliage, while long horizontal sweeps and dry-brushed scumbling create smoother movement across the water and clouds.
Layering and depth: Contrasts in texture, saturation, and value establish multiple visual planes. Vivid pink and yellow foliage advances toward the viewer as softly blended blue tones recede into the distance.
Materials and support: Heavy-body oil paint is applied to a prepared Masonite panel. The rigid surface preserves crisp edges and the tactile character of each distinct passage of color.
Inventory Status: Available for purchase online or in the gallery.
Shipping / Pickup: Shipping is available securely packaged with professional archival materials, insured, and shipped globally; complimentary local pickup is also available at our 23 North Main Street gallery.
