Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to The Cash Monet. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

The Cash, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

From childhood, I have always loved painting. Once I hit high school, I trained in Classical realism, starting at 15—the culture I’ve been accustomed to from growing up in a very eclectic way. I grew up very fast, traveling and partying at a young age. I never settled for what society considered to be “normal”. I always had an itch to travel and gain new experiences and ways to see life from a full perspective. Believing that everything happens for a reason, I’ve used art to express myself and have a meaning behind every piece, connecting with people on other levels beyond what the eye sees. It’s more about a feeling or emotions being accessed through my pieces. Every piece I create has a meaning and tells a story. The skills I’ve acquired being in the industry and growing with this industry throughout my young adult years has taught me to have thick skin. I know what I want, and I know what I like, so I’m not afraid to speak my mind. I’m learning how to trust people and partner with people who will always have my back. I’ve always had a strong backbone of support from the people who I surround myself with and I will always stand by that.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I started making fashion design sketches for an interior designer at the age of 10. Once I was trained in classical painting, I began to segway into pop culture fashion. My first project was designer sneakers, where I painted custom designs to the client’s liking, featuring abstract designs and bright colors. Through college at Syracuse, I started picking up illustration vigorously. I noticed a demand for the style of art I was creating as it was unique and eccentric. I immediately found a way to monetize it. Novelty items such as fanny packs, puzzles, coasters, blankets, posters, and printed acrylic blocks were sold on my Shopify website. These pieces were geared toward a millennial audience as well as the marketing campaign behind it. Funky, fashionable, and slightly utilitarian, I found my niche.

Custom paintings have been my backbone since my teenage years and I still pride myself in producing customer pieces. My favorite new way of showcasing myself and my art is through live installations. All-inclusive of neon lights, glow paint, and personalized photo tracing, I take someone’s photo which is personal to them, and recreate it with a technicolored chic design, accentuating the emotion illustrated in the photo. Some pieces can be coated with resin elevating the piece and making it suitable for wall featuring in one’s home.

Some of my best styles of paintings, aside from my celebrity custom pieces, are my female empowerment pieces. With the whole shift of the ‘me too’ movement, I honed in on female sexuality and freedom of expression. Some people may consider my art ‘racey’ or ‘explicit’ even, but I believe it to be sexy and avant-garde. The younger generation has their eye on sensual, expressive art that breaks barriers and is bold. My clients are not afraid to show off and own who they are just as much as I do. That’s how I connect to my audience, they are my clique, my people, my posé.

Recently, I helped put on a 2-day event at the hard rock guitar hotel with the Tony visions team, where my clothing went on the runway as wearable art and I had a solo display of Artwork. I did a show for Art Basel including a solo wall space in red dot as well as a collaborative wall space with Jesse art man curation. I did the art plugs show at the wharf where I had wall space there. As well as a show at 11 residence, I live painted with third eye hospitality for DJ sasha and Danny Tenaglia, Following that, I work for Phil the mayor and Barry Mullineaux and live painted for DJ Irie that night.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I strive to bring awareness to feminity without abusing the idea of femininity. Our culture at large has always been curated from a man’s perspective. I want women to feel safe with their sexuality and feel safe expressing themselves. I want to empower women to own their bodies and not be afraid to showcase their beauty. I like to hone into a sexy place on a women’s body and abstract that through my art, ie. legs in tall boots or a full set of lips or a women’s silhouette. I take the soul of the woman inspiring the piece and showcase it with my contrasting color selection.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

In college, a few friends of mine helped me coin the stage name, ‘Cash Monet’, once they took a liking to my pop art novelties. It stuck. As far as social media presence a few friends of mine had a TikTok-famous cat @Kahluathekittyy, where they tagged me regularly. A friend of mine @rayyshayne photographed my art and helped popularize it, amongst other high-profile influencers. Since I’ve been featured showcasing live art installation experiences in Miami, my profile has grown in the Miami market. It’s all about networking, without being out and about in the art scene and nightlife scene I would not have grown as much as I did on social media. Every time I meet someone new I make the connection by exchanging contact info. My growth has been totally organic and will continue to be so.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://opensea.io/collection/robocashzombotz
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecashmonet