Monique Shelton is a Pacific Northwest - based abstract artist working primarily in encaustic and mixed media. Her practice is grounded in material exploration, layering of wax, pigment, burlap and industrial elements such as rebar and copper to create work that balances structure and atmosphere.
With a background spanning high level athletics, coaching, and design build work, Shelton brings a disciplined, process-driven approach to her studio practice. Her paintings often reference horizons, thresholds and shifting landscapes - spaces where tension and stillness coexist.
Originally from California and now based in Washington, her work reflects a distinctly west coast sensibility, drawing from coastal environments, natural textures and the interplay between permanence and change. Shelton's pieces are held in private collections and been installed in professional and wellness spaces.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

My work lives in a space of structure and stillness. I build each piece through layers - encaustic wax, pigment, burlap an sometimes industrial materials like rebar and copper - allowing surfaces to evolve slowly over time. The process in deliberate and physical. Nothing is rushed. Each layer holds evidence of what came before it.
I am interested in thresholds - those quiet , often overlooked moments where something is shifting but not yet resolved. A horizon line, a change in texture, a tension between control and release. These are spaces I return to again and again.
In a world that moves quickly and demands constant output, my work is an act of resistance. It asks for patience. It asks to be experienced in person. Where light, depth and surface reveal themselves gradually.
Ultimately, these pieces are not about fixed image, but about presence - what it feels like to stand still long enough to notice what's underneath.