Exhibition, Studio, Union!

This week started off with a lovely trip to the country with a friend to take five of my paintings (see above) to the Dancing Light Gallery. I like the gallery's tag line, Contemporary Art, Contemporary Thinking. It's a slightly unusual venue being that it is situated on an organic farm but its uniqueness makes it a destination spot. One can make a day of it by taking in the art in the beautiful and light-filled contemporary gallery, dining in the organic farm to table restaurant and cafe, all while picking up their organic messages and produce, browsing the antique store, charging their electric car and perhaps going for a wee hill walk in the majestic countryside, just outside the city of Edinburgh.

This is my first time showing with the gallery and I was delighted to be asked to participate in their Spring Exhibition.

Spring Exhibition is on show from the 30th March to 29th May 2019. The Preview & Wine Reception will be on Saturday 30th March 2pm To 5pm.

Dancing Light Gallery
Whitmuir by Lamancha
West Linton
Edinburgh
EH46 7BB

Gallery Hours:
Mon - Sun. 10am-5pm
Phone 01968 660200
Email: info@dancinglightgallery.co.uk

You can see me talking more about this wonderful opportunity and the exhibition in my latest Tuesday Studio Video Visit. 

In other news this week, I cleaned my studio, studied my scroll series and worked on a stack of small works. 

I rounded out my week with the Scottish Artists Union. I participated in a consultation session to review a draft of the Fair Work Contract. It was wonderful to be a room with passionate and professional individuals working for the best interests of all artists and to get paid fairly for our time! I am proud to be a union member, it feels good to be part of something that recognises the time, effort, and expense of being an artist and the intrinsic value of our work. We are workers with rights and deserve to get paid like everyone else. The union protects these rights, educates artists and the art community, and supports the artist. If you are a artist working in Scotland and are eligible to join your union please do so, we are stronger together and the benefits of joining are plenty. This is the second union event I have attended since joining in the new year, the first presentation was on basic income and how it would benefit artists (and everyone else) - both presentations were valuable and empowering. Join today! 

Thanks for reading, I hope you are well, happy, and inspired wherever you are. Keep fighting!

Rare form

I tell stories and they aren't always mine. I pull them from the air. This is what excites me. I am tired of holding back, I am tired of not telling. I am tired of holding my tongue and being good. The stories come to me on the wind. They give me voice and strength. They take me away from here. These stories are the voices of characters, the tale of the open window and the blowing curtain, the music on the ether. The bottles rattling down the alleyway, the moon over the railroad tracks. The stories of leaving it all behind and starting anew, the broken hearts on the pavements and the tears all around the city. Incomplete bus rides and calls not returned, confusion and letters never sent. 

The trash blowing in the wind and the call of the south. You'll find me standing against the decaying and water damaged walls of abandoned houses listening. 

The magic is in the schedule and in the practice

Small works framed for The Velvet Easel Gallery exhibition: "Off the Wall"
Happily, the two on the right sold on opening day. 

Dear Readers, 

I don't seem to have much to say about painting right now and I find that very frustrating. My studio blog is an important part of my process. It is a practice that I value right along with my painting. They work in concert together. My painting spurs on my writing, and my thoughts, words, and daily life spur on my painting. They each help me understand my motivations and why I paint. Sometimes, it's a simple reportage post of what happened one week in the studio, sometimes it's a love letter to the process, and sometimes it's just photographs of the work. The point is, whatever my blog is, I show up each Friday (well, usually). 

The magic is in the schedule and in the practice. This important practice has been hard for me lately. So here's to checking in, acknowledging the importance of the process, and stating my intention to get back into it. That's really all I can do. It doesn't help that I have had three viruses in the past 6 weeks. Perhaps this is a sign to slow down and nurture myself, to breathe in and breathe out and just be. There is an ebb and flow to nature and right now I am in the ebb. Looking forward to sharing the flow again with you one day soon. 

Thanks to all of you that check in here, your support and interest are also part of the process and part of my community that I hold dear. I plan to "catch up" later this weekend.

To quote Thich Nhat Hanh, "Darling, I care about the suffering."

Off The Wall

I am delighted to be participating in the "Off The Wall" exhibition at The Velvet Easel Gallery in Portobello. I will be showing three small works on canvas for the exhibition that opens tomorrow! 

I did something I never do, I had my work professionally framed! Usually, I paint on thicker canvas so that I can avoid framing them but these works on are a thin profile canvas and I wanted to see how they would look framed. I must say I was beyond pleased. Leith Framing Studio did a spectacular job on short notice. I would highly recommend them!

Until next week, you know what to do! The world needs you and your art!

Work with me!

If you need an art mentor, someone to hold you accountable, or just someone to give you permission and point you towards the right resources in a supportive and non-judgemental way, I can help. Let's explore, demystify, and grow your art practice! 

Visit my mentoring website: https://meganchapmanart.wixsite.com/mentor

Until next week keep fighting!