Lee A. Monts is a Christian artist who primarily creates contemporary acrylic paintings on canvas, paper and board. A native of Chapin, South Carolina, his formal education is in geology. He has been a resident of Columbia, South Carolina, since 1987 and is employed full time by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. Lee began painting in 2002 and has had no formal art training. He has shown extensively in South Carolina since 2003. “Testimony”, the artist’s premier solo show was on exhibit July 23 – August 21, 2009, at the Gallery at DuPre in Columbia, SC. A feature article by nationally known writer Cynthia Boiter titled “Artist come lately…” appeared in the January 2010 issue of Lake Murray Magazine and Northeast Columbia Magazine. The artist was selected as one of six artists for Street Gallery III, a rotating billboard project in 2010 sponsored by the Cultural Council of Richland and Lexington Counties and Lamar Advertising. Monts also received the “In Memory of Lena Massara” Award in 2010 for his entry in the 33rd Annual South Carolina Watermedia Society Show. Monts will be featured along with nine other selected artists in a limited edition Capital City Art Book to be released in Spring 2011. The artist’s work can also be seen at www.323art.blogspot.com.
Artists Statement
"Art is about an innate need to create and the process that results from this need. There is often a controlled randomness in my work, starting with the application of gesso on canvas in a manner that has allowed instant recognition in the community. The texture that results is an important element, and it comes alive when acrylic pigment is applied. It is this application of color, and the act of doing, that drives the direction of the painting as I rarely have a fully preconceived notion or complete expectation of the outcome. My primary hope is that the painting becomes a true expression of the moment. The end result is generally an abstracted landscape that, while often ambiguous, creates a feeling of familiarity for the viewer and a sense of accomplishment for the artist."