It is happiness and her joie de vivre Manon aims to share with the viewer in paintings that reflect the color, light and joy that she feels surrounded by and is ever so grateful for.Born in Berlin, Germany, Manon grew up in Berlin and Bavaria After moving from Germany to Chicago in 1995, Manon ran a business for a decade painting murals, which are represented in numerous private homes and stores in Illinois, Michigan, Florida and California.Getting introduced to the work of well known Californian impressionist painters as well as moving to the San Francisco area in 2006 were the igniting sparks to plunge herself into plein air and studio painting in oil. Living in the Bay Area provided a unique opportunity to study with the best contemporary impressionists and to finally combine Manon’s love of the outdoors with the portability of oil paints to create on the spot. Under the watch of renowned artists, Manon studied how to make a painting that combines rich texture and vivid color while capturing the expression of her subject and the impression it left on her.In 2010 painting California’s vast variety of water, hills, incredible flora and fauna, unique structures and last but not least that almost palpable golden Californian light were replaced by all that sunny, buggy, and wonderful Florida has to offer. Manon and her family moved to Palm Beach County, where she dipped right into painting the trademarks of a tropical setting which still proves to provide her with a never-ending stream of inspiration and an almost magnetic attraction to the ocean and its surroundings.Additionally to painting en plein air, Manon often picks random objects for a still life set-up. To Manon it doesn’t matter much what she paints, since her main interest is the effect light has on an object. Capturing the light is what drives Manon to her paints and easel to put down her impressions in thick juicy oil paint applied with gusto.Manon’s paintings continue to be exhibited in numerous juried exhibitions, have won many awards and are in private collections on three continents. Her work is in the permanent collection of the Albin Polasek Museum in Winter Park, FL, and is published in former White House Communication Officer James Snyder’s book “Down The Loxahatchee”, The Palm Beacher, Jupiter Magazine, West Palm Beach Magazine, InJupiter, and has been mentioned in Plein Air Magazine. Manon paints in plein air competitions and is an enthusiastic, caring, and knowledgeable instructor whose classes and workshops have a following of students who keep coming back for more.