Moni Hill, a painter and artist based out of Asheville, North Carolina, evokes the flora, fauna, and landscapes of the Blue Ridge Mountains throughout many of her pieces. We asked her about her inspirations and her latest projects. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Over the past several years, your style of artistry has shifted from pure abstractions of nature to landscapes with abstract and Impressionist elements. Can you tell us about that evolution?
Though I have lived in these mountains and hiked them daily for decades, I never even thought to paint them. Even as I started to learn about the names of the flowers, plants, mushrooms, and trees, observing the forest floor through the seasons, identifying the birds by hearing their songs, and all the biodiversity this area offers. The more I went into the forests, the more I learned, the more I fell in love… In 2023, I worked as a tour guide, taking people on the Blue Ridge Parkway and into Pisgah National Forest. I got to witness firsthand people’s experience of our mountains, our long-range views, and it changed me. Sharing these mountains with people was always such a profound experience for them and me. It reinforced my belief that these mountains are truly magical!
When I returned to painting full time, I couldn’t contain my joy and gratitude for this area. The mountains found their way into my paintings, and I welcomed them whole-heartedly. It’s like everything clicked. I had been painting abstractions, but there was always a disconnect between what I was painting and where my heart actually was. Deep in my heart, I wanted to point to all the things in nature that I encountered and grew to love. I was thrilled when the mountains made their way to my work! Now it’s all come together, and I like to think that people who see my work can feel that connection and that joy, and that they themselves feel a part of it, because they feel the same way.
Last year, many of your paintings spoke to a fascination with light on water—including your painting, “Lake Toxaway in Daylight.” Why do you feel you returned again and again to this subject?
The lakes in our area are especially beautiful to me! The way the mountains and trees reflect off the water, it’s just too much beauty for one soul.
I’ve been a lifelong swimmer, and about twelve years ago I painted a whole show based on swimming pools. While swimming laps, I would be mesmerized by the way the water would catch the light, the way it rippled, and how it was never quite the same. I started painting lakes after receiving a couple of commissions to paint lakes for people’s lake homes. What a great opportunity and life changing project that was—I absolutely love painting lakes (and Lake Toxaway is quite a gem!). Is there a better way to experience our mountains and forests than from a canoe, quietly paddling up to the edge of the water? It’s mysterious. It’s mystical. It’s one of the most beautiful things I know. What a gift to get to paint it.
Every other week this year, you’re producing a new painting with a unique view of Mt. Pisgah—telling the mountain’s story one letter at a time. Can you tell us about your inspiration behind this project? Why feature this mountain in Particular?
I call Mount Pisgah the heart and soul of Asheville. You can see her from all over town: she’s always there, a quiet, steady, welcoming presence. But how many of us really stop to notice her, to look up and say thank you?
I’ve lived here for over twenty years, and her magic and magnificence have only recently begun to truly sink in. So I decided to spend a year highlighting her ecological, historical, and cultural relevance to this place we call home. There are so many stories to tell; stories that most people who love this city have never heard. Asheville wouldn’t be Asheville without Mount Pisgah, and I’m here to make that case, one painting at a time.
What is it about the Blue Ridge Mountains and Western North Carolina that inspires you to paint?
After every walk in the woods, my heart wants to explode. I think that’s a deeply human reaction—the same impulse that makes people want to sing, or cook, or garden. It’s the feeling of connection with something larger than yourself. And there is so much here to connect with. I love the isoprene, the blue gases released by the trees that give our mountains their signature blue hue. I love finding a little red mushroom or a single acorn amid so much green. I love the crane fly orchid, whose leaves hide their magenta undersides until you kneel down and look. I love the pipevine swallowtails, which feed exclusively on pipevine leaves. I love the creeks that begin as a trickle seeping out from behind a mossy rock on a forested hillside. I love the ancient, moss-covered boulders. I love the little salamanders, shy and sweet. I love it all so much!
This place is endlessly layered with beauty and life! The more I learn to look, the more I see, and the more I want to rush back to the studio to paint!
