Monica Loya paints the surreal side of everyday life

When you have a gander at Monica Loya's artworks, you might at first absorb the delightful and satisfying colour palettes – the cherry pinks, baby blues, velvet greens and soft beige shades. They're immensely satisfying, and a sense of calm might come your way.

Then, you might start to notice that there's something a little strange going on: a subject walking on the clouds while a sparkly rose hovers beside them; someone biting into a bar of soap; a heel stomping into beer can while a rosary necklace dangles from the ankle; a dog chewing at some shoe laces; or a cup of tea pouring into a lap. Despite the relaxing hues, everything is slightly surreal and a little uneasy – but in the best way possible.

Based in Mexico City, Monica grew up in Chihuahua and took her first steps in her career as a graphic designer and illustrator. However, as with all creative types, she had a calling to something a bit more artsy – specifically, painting.

Around eight years ago, she decided to "fully commit" and taught herself the ropes. Ever since, she's been working as a painter, depicting the world she sees and channelling the thoughts that come to her. "My inspiration comes largely from observation, introspection and a lot of overthinking," she explains. "I'm constantly absorbing what's around me and reflecting on my own inner world." Dreams, satire, sarcasm and humour are also her favourite subjects to tackle, and we can certainly see why. That mix of overthinking and humour gives her work its distinctive psychological charge.

But rather than painting everyday scenes as they are, Monica likes to twist them – whether that's through an unusual colour palette or by illustrating a scene that simply would look bizarre in the real world. For example, in Holy Water, she's painted someone – who's wearing a lovely blue dress – dipping their red heels into a pink-hued bathtub, a yellow rubber duck swimming nearby.

Now let's be real – the only reason anyone might do this is to clean their shoes when they can't find a sponge, and they're about to nip out the door. But this is exactly what Monica wants to provoke. She wants to translate a surreal idea onto the canvas and make the viewer question the reality that they're perceiving. "I loved how [Holy Water] turned out because the idea I had in my mind translated almost exactly onto the canvas," she says. "I really enjoy those moments when a painting becomes what I imagined from the start."

Her process also doesn't follow any rules. Rather than sticking to a clear plan, Monica tends to work intuitively and put whatever comes into her mind down on the canvas. By doing so, she can become one with the paint brush – and that's where the magic really happens. "My creative process is quite messy and unpredictable," she says. "Most ideas appear suddenly, almost out of nowhere. I usually write them down in my Notes app and revisit them later, allowing the idea to evolve before starting a painting."

Next up, Monica plans to start work on a series of oil paintings about the "new" deadly sins and how they manifest in contemporary life. In 2008, the Vatican revisited the sins to address modern globalisation, updating the original list – pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth – with sins such as environmental pollution, genetic manipulation, excessive accumulation of wealth, and the infliction of poverty. Expect a surreal, colourful and very Monica take on the concept. "I want to do thorough research and really take my time developing this project," she says.

This might be her most well-planned project yet, but above all, she hopes people find joy and connection in her work. "More than conveying a specific message, I'm interested in capturing and preserving a moment in time as honestly as possible." And if that honesty happens to arrive wrapped in a baby-blue sky and a floating rose, all the better.