2am on a Friday Morning

Still

16x20" Sold
© 2010 Megan Chapman

I painted Still at the same time I worked on Upon Waking, the large painting I shared last week. This piece was a quiet spot that I could visit when the large painting was giving me trouble. This painting seemed to flow and come together quickly and without strife. I enjoy the fresh subtle colors radiating out and away from the lines and against the milky white. I am very pleased this painting has found a wonderful home in England, and will be headed there soon.

This week, I had a harder time focusing on painting and got caught up with administrative work at the Fayetteville Underground. However I did manage start another large 36x48" canvas, and I believe this one will be horizontal in orientation. We will see how it all works out. Next week will mostly be about preparing the galleries for the next First Thursday at the Fayetteville Underground. I am looking forward to having Thomas Petillo's photographs in the Hive for the month September. Not only will he have his work in the Hive but he will be in town for the reception!

Thomas Petillo

Hive Gallery

Thomas Petillo : North, West, East, South
September 1st through October 2nd 2010
Opening Reception September 2nd 5-8pm

Thomas Petillo is perhaps best known for his strikingly intimate portraits of great musicians (Robert Plant, Ben Folds, John Prine, Kid Rock and Porter Wagoner, to name only a few).Thomas has spent fifteen years honing the skills necessary to produce these beautiful images for record labels, magazines, and ad agencies. These portraits have come to define his style. But a very different Petillo has emerged in the last few years as the result of a series of commissions by Hammock, the ambient duo, who asked him to create images for their recordings. No matter his subject, Petillo's images are characterized by a delicate balance of stark realism and magical wonder, as if he stands with one foot in the spirit and the other in the flesh. This rare talent has given his work a singular imprint and has earned for him a distinguished place among contemporary photographers.

I hope all the locals will come out in droves and get to know Thomas' beautiful work and meet the artist himself. We have a wonderful September in store for you at the Underground, to read more about all the exhibitions that will be featured visit the Fayetteville Underground Blog.

And before all that kicks off, on this Saturday, August 28th at 11:00 am at the Underground. I will be giving an informal art talk on the exhibition Ghosts in the landscape #2, currently on display in the Hive by Christian Demare. This will be the final day of the exhibition, and I hope folks will come down and explore further Christian's dark, mysterious photographic worlds.

Those are the simple nuts and bolts of this artist's life for this week. There was more to it than all that, and I would like to write more about my process or my personal feelings about my art or the art world in general but the simple reportage style seems to work currently.

If you have bought my art either recently or long ago, if you have talked to me about my work, or taught me, if you have shared music with me that has inspired my art, or just supported me emotionally while I work, I just want to say thank you. I can't work alone in a vacuum, and the support I receive near and far is directly proportional to the work I put out. So, if you think I am a prolific artist, it is only because I have prolific supporters, so from the bottom of my heart I thank you all.

And as always, keep fighting. The world needs your art.

In the studio with: Still, Upon Waking,
Somehow we find ourselves on the same continent, and Sometimes