My name is Monique Cannon. I was born in 1967 on a sheep and wheat farm in Forbes,  New South Wales, Australia.
I had a wonderful childhood, blessed to be born a “farm girl” with all the wonderful gifts of nature at my fingertips.

I had 2 dogs, 1 cat, 10 fish, 1 cow, 2 horses, 1 frog, 1 turtle, 12 lambs, 3 chickens, 5 ducks and 100 coloured pencils!!

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When I finished school at 18 it was time to move to a big city to pursue my goal to be an art teacher! Sydney, Australia was my destination. Art-Teacher college didn’t turn out well. I turned to plan B... anything “art”.

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I completed a diploma in graphic design and got a job in advertising, but it wasn't my real dream. Eventually I quit my job and my life in Sydney and moved to the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. I had always dreamed of living there. Now I had to start all over again.

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After moving to the Gold Coast at age 23 I got a waitressing job and the owner noticed I was a graphic designer. He asked if I could do some artwork on his blackboard (wow). Of course I said YES! This was my dream job..."artist”!! i had no idea what materials to use or where to start for that matter, so I made it up as I went along. This was happiness, I felt like a real artist.

When I finally completed the blackboard my boss was so happy. He said it was the best blackboard ever!! My Dad took photographs of this blackboard and made it into business cards. I named the business “Monique’s Chalk Art.”

I was kept busy chalk-arting most days, but had the idea if I could seal them somehow, I would have a better business. So mum, dad and I set about testing and trying everything on the market. we finally had the perfect product and it was the first non-smudge chalkart ever!!

So that was the beginning of the rest of my life. I eventually had to quit my day job as a waitress and become a full time ARTIST!!!  Such a lovely story :)

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