Welcome to
my colorful world

My inspiration

Hi, my name is Monika Harmund Csanyi. I‘m an award-winning Hungarian-American contemporary oil painter. Creating art has been a part of my life since I first held a pencil in my hand, and I love sharing my colorful world with others.

As an oil painter, I find inspiration in fragments of nature and the man-made world. I love to see things from a different perspective, which perspective is also a part of our reality. My main goal is to open the eyes of the viewer by expressing my feelings and thoughts through focusing on simple everyday things. This way I would like to help others to realize how beautiful and colorful our life is. I would like to build bridges between the fantastic world around us and the people who appreciate the tiny, but precious and timeless moments.

First painting

After moving to Florida in 2008 I've started my new career as a freelance graphic designer. In my spare time as usually I was drawing - until my first son was born in 2010 December...
After the passing of my Mom in 2016, as a therapy, I picked my pencils up again and tried to ease my pain with drawing. But as I started to feel better and better, I needed some real COLOR instead of the gray graphite and the black charcoal. First I tried colored pencils, then pastels, but something was not quite right... So I asked my friend, who is a hobby painter, to give me a canvas, a brush and some paint. So she did. At the very moment I touched the canvas with the brush loaded with traditional oils, I knew I didn’t want to deal with anything else but painting.

My style

I consider myself a self-taught painter, but of course I was influenced by a lot of artists – including my middle school art teacher who was an illustrator. She was the first one back in 1991 who told me that I’m really talented and I have to be an artist - which I didn’t believe her at the time. Here in the USA I was tutored by Tom Sadler landscape painter.

My work is representational - sometimes with a little twist of photorealistic, impressionistic or abstract elements. I tend to paint series in regard to the exploration of a particular theme or image. My oil paintings can be recognized from strong, intense colors and meticulously elaborated subjects. My biggest passion is water, especially rain, and I’m working on a series using this element.

I live in Central-Florida, in a quiet suburban area near to the Wekiva State Park, so I enjoy the rain every day from May until October. This strongly influences my work, as does my European origin.
I was born and raised in Budapest, Hungary – surrounded by rich culture, amazing architecture and treasures of nature, so my memories and experiences constantly inspire me.

I had 38 gallery exhibitions and I won 26 awards to date.
I have paintings in private collections in the US, UK, France, Belgium and Hungary.
I am an associate member of the National Oil and Acrylic Painters' Society (NOAPS), the Marion Cultural Alliance (MCA Ocala) and the Winter Garden Art Association.

Thank you for your interest in my art.

Please feel free to browse among my original artworks in my portfolio. If you have any questions, purchase or commission request, please don't hesitate to contact me at monika@mhcfineart.com!

Awards

• Honorable Mention Award for my painting "Lilianne" at the 2023 Black & White online art show by Gray Cube Gallery - 2023 April

• Honorable Mention Award for my painting "Moon bath" at the 12th Annual “All Women” Exhibition by Light Space Time Gallery - 2023 February

• 9th place Award for my painting "Moon bath" at the 3rd 5-5-5 Online Juried Art Exhibition by Light Space Time Gallery - Summer 2021

• Special Merit Award for my painting "Windshield 4." at the 11th Annual “Cityscapes” Online Juried Art Exhibition by Light Space Time Gallery - February 2021

• Special Recognition Award for my painting "Connection" at the 11th Annual “All Women” Online Juried Art Exhibition by Light Space Time Gallery - January 2021

• 3rd Place Award for my painting "Calm" at Fusion Art Gallery's 5th Waterscapes Artists Exhibition - October 2020

• Finalist Award for my painting "Water lily" at the The Gateway International Painting Competition - October 2020

• Special Merit Award for my painting "Confused" at the 4th Annual “Patterns” Online Juried Art Exhibition by Light Space Time Gallery - September 2020

• Special Recognition Award for My painting "Presence" at the 10th Year Anniversary Online Juried Art Exhibition by Light Space Time Gallery - August 2020

• BEST IN SHOW Award for my painting "Storm" at The Gateway International Painting Competition - 2020 June
Judge and Category: Rick J. Delanty, Abstract Professional
Judge's Comment: "One of my priorities in my own work as a representational painter is to always consider the role that abstraction plays in the creation of any work of art, and the honesty that can be directly communicated from the artist to the viewer in 'first strokes,' or marks, gestures, and movements created instinctually—and not 'tweaked' or overdone thereafter. It’s that quality of freshness and even the illusion of form and space that is conveyed in this work. The gradation across the work from right (light) to left (shadow) even appears to evoke a collection of stalactites dripping down from a cave ceiling. Abstraction allows the viewer to participate in the artwork by stimulating his own imagination, and allowing him to experience the work alongside the artist."

• BEST IN SHOW Award for my painting "Windshield 2" at The Gateway International Painting Competition - 2020 May
Judge and Category: Debra Keirce, Abstract Professional
Judge's Comment: "The title explains this painting in a representational sense. Yet, if you don’t know this is a scene through a car windshield on a rainy day, it is a series of shapes that explore movement in shadow. It could be a view of something exciting happening in space, an oil slick, a reflection. I enjoy this abstract piece because it engages the senses, and it is a window (pun intended) into the abstraction in our reality."

• BoldBrush Regram Winner 'Hudson and the city'

• BEST IN SHOW Award for my painting "Hudson and the city" at The Gateway International Painting Competition - 2020 March
Judge and Category: Elizabeth Fontaine-Barr, Abstract Professional
Judge's Comment: "This abstract painting has an intriguing quality. The artist has the talent to paint the rain in such a way that a deeper look is needed to discover the cityscape and soft clouds in the background. It is a very well orchestrated composition and use of a limited palette that truly holds the viewer engaged."

• Special recognition Award for my painting "Porcelain" at the 10th Annual “Figurative” Online Juried Art Competition by Light Space Time Gallery - March 2020

• Merit award for my painting "Porcelain" at the "Portrait" Art Exhibition by the Art Room Gallery - March 2020.

• Honorable Mention Award for my painting "Morning mist" at the Sunrises & Sunsets Quarterly International Online Juried Art Exhibition by Fusion Art - March 15 - June 14, 2020

• Special Merit Award for my painting "Rainy Sunday" at the 10th Annual “CityScapes” International Online Juried Art Competition by Light Space Time Gallery - 2020 February

• Special Recognition Award for my painting "Umbrellas" at the 10th Annual “CityScapes” International Online Juried Art Competition by Light Space Time Gallery - 2020 February

• Honorable Mention Award for my painting "West of Eden" at the 5th Annual Landscapes International Online Juried Art Exhibition by Fusion Art - 2020 January

• Special Recognition Award for my painting "No Words Needed" at the 9th Annual "All Women" International Art Competition by Light Space Time Gallery - 2020 January

• Finalist Award for my painting "Colossus" at the The Gateway International Painting Competition - 2019 October
Judge’s comment:
“A massive, rising column of clouds looms over the land. We admire its magnificence, but also hope we’re not in its path! Aspects like skillful rendering, refined treatment of edges, naturalistic hues, and details such as the streak of sunlight cast across the landscape collaborate for an overall impression evoking the duality of forces in life.” Judge and Category: PaintingContest.Org Panel of Art Professionals, Representational Professional

• Special Merit Award for my seascape “Afternoon at the beach” at the 9th Annual "SeaScapes" Art Exhibition by Light Space & Time Online Art Gallery - 2019 November

• Special Recognition Award for my seascape “Dance” at the 9th Annual "SeaScapes" Art Exhibition by Light Space & Time Online Art Gallery - 2019 November

• Finalist Award for my painting "Encounter" at The Gateway International Painting Competition - 2019 September
Judge’s comment:
"The artist immediately conveys to the viewer the feeling of an outside observer of life. Masterfully and subtly, the master conveyed all the details of wet and fogged glass. Looking at the picture, we almost physically feel the humidity of the air. The artist invites us to stop and solve the riddle, where does the person go, what is waiting for him?" Judge and Category: Nelya Akimova, Abstract Professional

• 12th place award for my painting "Timeless Moment" at the 9th Annual “Open” 2019 Art Exhibition by Light Space & Time Online Art Gallery - 2019 August

• Special Recognition Award for my painting "Rainy Sunday" at the 9th Annual “Open” 2019 Art Exhibition by Light Space & Time Online Art Gallery - 2019 August

• Honorable Mention Award for my painting "Dance" at the Fusion Art's 4th Annual Waterscapes International online Juried Art Exhibition - 2019 August

• Finalist Award for my painting "Windshield" at The Gateway International Painting Competition - 2019 April
Judge's Comment: "A perfect representation of the mystical world behind the window on a rainy day." Judge and Category: Jolanta Soares, Abstract Professional

• BoldBrush Regram Winner with my painting 'Windshield' - 2019 April

Exhibitions

• 04/01/2023 – 05/30/2023 TOP CHOICE juried exhibition at SOBO Art Gallery, Winter Garden, FL
Showing "Lilianne" oil painting

• 02/01/2023 – 03/31/2023 ART IN MOTION juried exhibition at SOBO Art Gallery, Winter Garden, FL
Showing "Dance" oil painting

• 10/28/2022 -  DAY & NIGHT ART EXHIBITION at Tutto Caffe / Baldwin Perk, Orlando, FL
Showing "Commitment", "Confidence", "Light and shadow" and "Windshield 4" oil paintings

• 10/13/2022 -  PEOPLE & PLACES ART EXHIBITION at Tutto Caffe / Baldwin Perk, Orlando, FL
Showing "Porcelain" and "Hidden (?) thoughts" oil paintings

• 05/14/2022  REALITY FROM A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE - SOLO ART EXHIBITION by Monika Harmund Csanyi at the Museum of Arts and Sciences (MOAS), Daytona Beach, FL
Showing "Windshield", "Connection", "Rain and the City I", "Rain and the City II", "Encounter", "Timeless moment", "Marina I", "Mirror" and "Dance" oil paintings

• 04/04/2022 - 06/05/2021 CREDO - ULTIMATE EXPRESSION EXHIBITION at Credo Cafe, Orlando, FL
Showing "Silk", "Calm" and "La Vie En Rose" oil paintings

• 04/04/2022 - 05/01/2022 CREDO - ULTIMATE EXPRESSION EXHIBITION at Credo Conduit, Orlando, FL
Showing "The First Kiss" and "Marina II." oil paintings

• 11/23/2021 – 01/30/2022 FUN AND/OR FUNCTIONAL juried exhibition at SOBO Art Gallery, Winter Garden, FL
Showing "Secret pond" 3D epoxy resin art (mixed media)

• 10/13/2021 - 11/06/2021 MY BEST FRIEND EXHIBITION at Quantum Leap Winery, Orlando, FL
Showing "Survivor" and "Confused" oil paintings

• 10/05/2021 – 11/20/2021 CHASING THE LIGHT AND THE DARK juried exhibition at SOBO Art Gallery, Winter Garden, FL
Showing "Light Guard" and "Windshield 4" oil paintings

• 09/03/2021 – 09/25/2021 Inspired By... MCA's 3rd Annual Judged Fine Art Exhibit at The Brick Gallery, Ocala, FL
Showing "Rain and the city I." and "Timeless moment" oil paintings

• 08/31/2021 – 10/28/2021 FOR THE LOVE OF TREES juried exhibition by SOBO Art Gallery at the City Hall, Winter Garden, FL
Showing "Briar and creek" 14" x 14" oil painting

• 08/03/2021 – 10/02/2021 UNCONVENTIONAL BEAUTY juried exhibition at SOBO Art Gallery, Winter Garden, FL
Showing "Porcelain" 18" x 12" oil painting

• 5/21/2021 – 8/22/2021 ENVIRONMENTAL ART SHOW juried exhibition at Orlando Science Center STEAM Fusion Art Gallery, Orlando, FL
Showing "Dance”, “Hope" and “Survivor” oil paintings

• 05/17/2021 - 07/11/2021 ARTIST SERIES WINE EXHIBITION at Quantum Leap Winery, Orlando FL
Showing "Red" 12" x 12" oil painting

• 04/21/2021 – 04/24/2021 ART & STROLL Caladiums, Canvases and café juried exhibition at Nehrling Gardens, Orlando, FL
Showing "Briar and Creek", “Morning mist”, “Survivor” and “Mountain air” oil paintings

• 04/15/2021 - 06/20/2021 BLOOMING juried exhibition at the Galeria Restaurant, Baldwin Park, FL
Showing "Water Lily" 16" x 20", "Deviant" 16" x 20" and "Adam and Eve" 16" x 16" oil paintings

• 04/06/2021 – 05/29/2021 THE WORLD OUTSIDE juried exhibition at SOBO Art Gallery, Winter Garden, FL
Showing "Confused" 16" x 16" oil painting

• 02/02/2021 – 03/27/2021 ABSTRACTION juried exhibition at SOBO Art Gallery, Winter Garden, FL
Showing "Hudson and the city" 12" x 24" oil painting

• 10/21/2020 - 1024/2020 Owl Prowl Art Exhibition at Nehrling Gardens, Orlando, FL
Showing "Deviant", “Adam and Eve”, “Water”, “After the rain” oil paintings

• 10/02/2020 - 10/23/2020 THIS IS MY WORLD juried exhibition of St. Augustine Art Association
Showing "Confused" 16" x 16" oil painting

• 09/24/2020 - 11/08/2020 ABSTRACT ART SHOW at Quantum Leap Winery, Orlando FL
Showing "Mirror" 16" x 20" oil painting

• 09/01/2020 - 10/31/2020 7th TOP CHOICE JURIED EXHIBITION at SOBO Art Gallery
Showing "Encounter" diptych 2 x 20" x 16" oil painting

• 06/02/2020 - 08/31/2020 "eARTh" EXHIBITION at SOBO Art Gallery
Showing "Survivor" 12" x 18" oil painting

• 05/14/2020-12/31/2020 "JUST LIKE A WOMAN" International Juried Online Exhibition by The Cultural Center of Cape Cod, South Yarmouth, MA
Showing "Encounter 2" 20" x 16" oil painting

• 05/14/2020-06/27/2020 EXPRESSIONS 2020 NATIONAL JURIED EXHIBITION by Marine Society Artists Gallery, San Rafael, CA
Showing "Confused" 16" x 16" oil painting

• 01/05/2020 - 01/31/2020 5TH ANNUAL LANDSCAPES INTERNATIONAL JURIED ONLINE EXHIBITION at Fusion Art Gallery
Showing "West of Eden" 24"x 12"and "Morning mist" 12"x 16" oil paintings

• 12/31/2019 - 02/01/2020 "WORD PLAY" EXHIBITION at SOBO Art Gallery, Winter Garden, FL
Showing "No Words Needed" 12"x 24" oil painting

• 12/6/2019 - 1/9/2020 THE 53RD FOUNDERS JURIED AWARDS EXHIBITION at Naples Art
Showing “Encounter” 20”x 16” oil painting

• 12/05/2019 - 12/31/2019 5TH ANNUAL COLORFUL ABSTRACTIONS INTERNATIONAL JURIED ONLINE EXHIBITION at Fusion Art Gallery
Showing "Blue waves" 24"x 12"and "Mirror" 16"x 20" oil paintings

• 11/5/2019 - 12/28/2019 "WILD WILD WEST" EXHIBITION at SOBO Art Gallery, Winter Garden, FL
Showing “West of Eden” 12”x 24” oil painting

• 11/1/2019 - 11/30/2019 5TH ANNUAL LEAVES & PETALS ART EXHIBITION at Fusion Art Gallery
Showing “The scent of spring” 16”x 12” and “Deviant” 16”x 20” oil paintings

• 11/01/2019 “SEASCAPES” ART EXHIBITION at Light Space & Time Gallery
Showing “Afternoon at the beach” 12”x 16” and “Dance” 16”x 12” oil paintings

• 9/3/2019 - 11/2/2019 "A DELIGHT IN DISORDER" EXHIBITION at SOBO Art Gallery, Winter Garden, FL
Showing “Mirror” 16”x 20” oil painting

• 8/1/2019 - 8/31/2019 4TH ANNUAL WATERSCAPES INTERNATIONAL ONLINE JURIED ART EXHIBITION at Fusion Art Gallery
Showing “Dance” 16”x 12” oil painting

• 7/30/2019 - 8/31/2019 "WATER WORKS" EXHIBITION at SOBO Art Gallery, Winter Garden, FL
Showing “Butterfly” 18”x 14” oil painting

• 6/2/2019 - 7/28/2019 "6TH ANNUAL TOP CHOICE AWARDS" EXHIBITION at SOBO Art Gallery, Winter Garden, FL
Showing “Timeless moment” 12”x 24” oil painting

• 4/30/2019 - 6/1/2019 "I GET AROUND" EXHIBITION at SOBO Art Gallery, Winter Garden, FL
Showing “Windshield” 12”x24” oil painting

• 4/2/2019 - 4/28/2019 "FLOWER POWER" EXHIBITION at SOBO Art Gallery, Winter Garden, FL
Showing “Waterlily” 16”x20” oil painting

Publications

• FEATURED ARTIST at Artist Portfolio Magazine – Issue 41 (2019 September)
https://issuu.com/artistportfoliomagazine/docs/issue41

• Illustrations for a poem book by Jámbor Magnetta – Betűk magamnak, published by WING kiadó Kecskemét, 2020

• Art book: CURRENT MASTERS V. 5 - Page 49.
The book features 75 artists from around the world
Published in 2020 by World Wide Art Books
https://wwab.us/cm-5/