From parenting to painting

Claudia Figueroa

Stepping into Lenora Monahan’s home is like stepping into a gallery

staffed with a casually dressed hostess who is eager to discuss the work.

Brightly painted canvases lean against antique table ends in the living

room. A few dozen take up wall space between a Drexel-style dining room

set and a buffet table in a neatly arranged area.

Monahan is preparing for an upcoming exhibit and despite the limited

space in her bright, quaintly decorated Corona del Mar home, she’s going

to make sure every painting has a place before it gets moved to its final

destination.

Preparations for Monahan’s exhibit, which opens May 19 at the Mondavi

Wine and Food Center in Costa Mesa, is far fromcomplete. She is still

making last-minute decisions on some of the paintings’ titles, prices

need to be determined and picture cards need to be made.

And then, of course, there’s the excitement of being the center of

attention at the opening reception.

But Monahan is in control of all that. Even though she’s only been making

art for 10 years, she said she’s had other, more difficult, roles in life

besides aspiring artist. Until recently, being a “good mother and wife”

was her goal.

Now Monahan, who is in her 70s, is seeing the payoff. Her children are in

awe of her work, and her husband, Tom, is her biggest supporter. Tom said

he gives her space to be creative and sometimes has a hand in framing her

work.

And, she added, from time to time he even does the cooking.

“If I had to stand outside of myself and look at my life, I’d have to say

it’s been wonderful,” said the prolific painter.

Monahan is a woman of all seasons. She said she visits Europe annually,

taking photographs and sketching portraits of sea villages and

countrysides.

She travels to certain places in certain seasons, she said, to capture

the way in which shadows are cast against a fence; or to grab the colors

of an after-harvest vineyard.

With her camera and sketch book in tow, Monahan searches for plush

landscapes in French countrysides during spring, and during winter she

visits Northern California’s wine country. But even then, her insatiable

curiosity about art, history and travel is never-ending.

Her paintings are proof of her determination to find the ultimate moment

of bliss -- be it on a lake in Geneva, Switzerland or a flower shop in

Paris.

“Welcome to the Vineyards,” “Lake Geneva” and “Les Fleurs” are just a few

of her colorful, impressionistic oil paintings that will be displayed at

the exhibit. Monahan said she has completed nearly 70 paintings since

last August, when the wine center commissioned her to fill a 356-foot

wall space.

Monahan said she recently had to learn how to break away from the role of

Mom.

“It’s astounding to watch how she has progressed over the years,” said

Dennis Monahan, Lenora’s son, who seems still in awe of his mother’s

achievements. “Up until recently, I would never see her sitting at an

easel, but now I think it’s tremendous how self-taught she is.”

In recent years, Monahan’s work has been displayed at various museums and

art shows Orange County.

Monahan is also a member of the California Art Club and studied with such

well-known artists as Charles Sovek, Ted Goerschner and Kevin McPherson.

Monahan, who works at the Joan Irvine Museum as a docent, attributes her

success to a book she read called “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron. As

a result, Monahan said she learned how to let go of her fears and just

paint a picture.

“I’ve always been creative,” Monahan said. “Whether it’s been with

fashion or gardening or cooking. But now I have the opportunity to do

something I’ve always wanted to do.”

* WHAT: Lenora Monahan exhibit

* WHERE: Mondavi Wine and Food Center, 1570 Scenic Ave., Costa Mesa

* WHEN: Reception at 5 p.m. May 19. The show runs through July 17.

HOW MUCH: FreePHONE: (949) 644-8389