Monique van Doorn

LITTLE SECRET

Sensual Charcoal Art

Capturing beauty. Revealing what is usually kept hidden.

This series began in 2009, during a time when art became a way for me to escape my thoughts and fears after being diagnosed with breast cancer.

I started creating large charcoal works of women.

What began as something deeply personal slowly became something shared.

The women who inspired these works were not professional models. They were women I met, knew or had conversations with. Women with their own stories, insecurities and confidence. In front of my camera, they allowed themselves to show another side.

Sensual. Feminine. Vulnerable. Strong.

Not for everyone to see.
But for themselves to experience.

Why Little Secret?

Many of the women chose to keep their identities private.

Their bodies became part of the artwork, but their faces and their names did not.

That is where Little Secret was born.

I know who they are.

And I’m not telling. 😉

More than a body

For me, these works have never simply been about nudity.

They are about the moment a woman allows herself to be seen differently. About confidence, freedom and being comfortable in her own skin.

Charcoal became the perfect material for that. Just black, white and everything in between. No distraction. A line can reveal something, while a shadow can leave something to the imagination.

And that is exactly where I like my work to be.

Not showing everything.
Just enough to make you look again.

Tease. Trigger. Provoke.

I have always been interested in what happens between the artwork and the person looking at it.

One person sees confidence.
Another sees vulnerability.
Another sees sensuality.

The same work can start completely different conversations.

And perhaps that is the real Little Secret.

What you see may say as much about you as it does about the woman in the artwork.

Look Again.
There Is Always Light.