ABOUT ALI
Ali Mignonne was born in Dallas, Texas, and grew up in a whirlwind of energy, thanks to her teenage parents, four younger siblings, and a neighborhood that felt like one never-ending adventure. Her childhood could have come straight from a coming-of-age movie—secret treehouse meetings, ziplining between trees, creekside campfires, and exploring the woods until dark. It was a childhood filled with freedom, imagination, and plenty of stories waiting to happen.
Of course, life wasn’t all adventure. Family struggles, loss, religious upheaval, and even a stroke at twenty shaped Ali’s path in unexpected ways. Through it all, imagination remained her constant. Creativity became a way to make sense of life, escape its boundaries, and create worlds where reality could be reimagined.
Today, Ali is a professional artist whose distinctive sculptural paintings are known for their rich texture, dimension, and unexpected details. Trees remain a favorite subject, but her work has expanded into mountains, waterways, desert landscapes, hidden cottages, wildlife, and places both real and imagined. More than anything, Ali considers herself a storyteller. Her paintings invite viewers to wonder what happened before the moment on the canvas—and what might happen next. She brings that same curiosity to her writing, weaving mystery, history, science fiction, and romance into stories of her own.
Nature plays a starring role in nearly everything she creates. Forests, rivers, mountains, winding trails, and solitary trees are more than scenery; they become characters in the story, much as they were in her childhood.
Now living in Reno, Nevada, Ali finds endless inspiration in the mountains and landscapes of the West. When she isn’t painting or writing, she’s likely out on a trail or two-stepping at a honky-tonk—still chasing a little adventure, just as she always has.
ART
The tradition and love of painting have been passed down through generations on both sides of Ali’s family. Her great-grandmother Lillian, on her father’s side, was a prolific oil painter and tapestry maker; her grandmother Irene, on her mother’s side, was a painter and interior decorator; and her mother, Sherri Mignonne, became a well-known professional artist. For Ali, picking up a paintbrush felt less like a decision and more like a natural continuation of a family legacy.
With no formal art training, Ali developed her skills by working alongside her mother and grandmother, studying the techniques of artists she admired, and, above all, trusting the guide that has shaped her work from the beginning: intuition. That instinctive approach continues to influence not only how she paints, but the stories, emotion, and imagination she brings to each canvas.
Great-Grandmother and painter
Lillian "Mema Mac" with Ali.
Ali's mom, Sherri Mignonne, blazed the trail, making a career as a professional artist feel possible.
"Mema" Irene - artist, decorator, and inspiration.
Ali’s trademark sculptural style emerged by chance in the early 2000s during a year of home renovations. While using joint compound to create a stone-wall effect in her bathroom, she discovered its potential as a sculptural medium. Experiments with brick and stone textures soon spread throughout her home and later into a series of cat houses she built with her grandfather, Ray.
She soon imagined sculpting a floor-to-ceiling tree in her dining room—but rather than test the idea on freshly painted walls, she transferred it to canvas. Through extensive trial and error, and a gradual shift from joint compound to paint, Ali developed her signature technique: blending paint with thickening agents and using palette knives and cake-decorating tools to sculpt three-dimensional trees and landscapes that rise from the surface.
Rooted in a deep love of nature and a lifelong pull toward fantasy, Ali’s work blends the beauty of the natural world with imaginative departures from reality. But her paintings are about more than the landscape—they tell stories. A winding path, a lone tree, a hidden cottage, or a bird passing through can suggest a journey, a memory, a mystery, or a moment yet to unfold. Unexpected colors, dramatic lighting, and heightened contrast draw viewers beyond the ordinary, inviting them not only to see the painting, but to imagine the story within it.
Ali’s paintings have been exhibited in galleries in Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana, and Texas, and are held in private collections worldwide.
WRITING
Writing was Ali’s first creative love and remains an important part of her life and artistic expression. Over the years, she has written stories, monologues, and songs, always drawn to the power of storytelling and the worlds created through imagination. Tangled Fates, her debut novel, became her first published work.
She is currently writing its sequel, Blackthorn, continuing a story—and a creative passion—that began long before she ever picked up a paintbrush.
"I want to bring new worlds into existence—places never seen or dreamed. Writing, for me, is an act of creation: conceived in imagination and carried through months or years until the moment those places and characters are finally born."
- Ali
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Visit Tangled Fates page to learn more and to purchase.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Why Do I Paint What I Paint?
Painting is an extension of myself. When I paint, I pour a piece of who I am onto the canvas—capturing what moves me, excites me, and fills me with wonder.
So, what thrills me?
What Thrills Me?
NATURE THRILLS ME
When I hike beside a trickling stream, with sunlight filtering through the trees, I feel invigorated—fully alive. Stress and negativity fall away as the earth’s energy renews me. Twisting pathways beckon me forward, each bend and turn a gateway to adventure. I feel rooted by the earth, connected to the rocks and roots that my feet roll across.
I pause, listening—to the flutter of wings, the hum of busy bees, the gentle trickle of water over stones. In that moment, time suspends, and I am completely present. Wildflowers, pinecones, acorns, and leaves become tiny treasures to be discovered and gathered
And then, there are the trees—towering above me, their endless variety of shapes, colors, and textures never failing to inspire and delight. Nature is a thrilling and boundless muse.
COLOR THRILLS ME
How do I express my love for color? It moves me. It affects my emotions, sets my mood, and transforms my perspective. Every painting begins with color—its shade, its tone, its brightness, its contrast. Color vibrates like music, with different wavelengths creating harmony or discord. The right combination can be mesmerizing, while the wrong one can unsettle. Mastering color is both my greatest challenge and my greatest joy, and it thrills me.
IMAGINATION THRILLS ME
I like to escape reality every chance I get! Reality is fine, but sometimes, it’s a little too… real. I prefer to escape. And when I do, I bring others along for the ride. My paintings are filled with dreamlike visions—white elephants draped in jewels wandering through aspen groves, hot pink trees sprouting from crimson grass beneath an impossibly large moon, giraffes wading in the crystalline waters of an unknown sea. Fantasy fuels my creativity, allowing me to construct worlds where the extraordinary feels natural and the impossible becomes possible.
Through my art, I invite you to see the world as I do—to revel in nature’s beauty, to lose yourself in color, and to step into a realm where imagination knows no bounds. Whether you linger before a painting or simply pause to read this statement, I hope, for just a moment, you escape with me.