Megan Chapman's Studio Blog

wander into the sea...

2012-01-28T05:22:00.000-06:00

wander into the sea, mixed media on paper 5x7"
© 2012 Megan Chapman, sold
http://www.etsy.com/shop/artmaven

There was more art viewed in the lovely city of Edinburgh this past week as eight commercial galleries were visited. We started with the lovely Union gallery as I wanted to catch the Winter Wonderland exhibition before it closed for the month. Stewart and I both had work in this group exhibition and I have to say it was quite a thrill to see my work in a gallery in Scotland. My work has been many places around the nation and now the world, but rarely do I get a chance to travel with my work and see it installed. So this unique experience was very important to me. The work looked lovely next to Stewart's.

Next we visited, Open eye gallery this gallery was showing some works by Frank Stella and Josef Albers. We then visited The Gallery on the Corner, which was a lovely little space, showing work by individuals with "a physical or mental health condition or those from a disadvantaged background." It was a comfortable and cute gallery and the range of work was quite good. I can stand behind a project gallery such as this, art is so important on so many levels. I am glad this gallery exists.

Next was Axolotl a gallery with several different shows on at once. One room contained large drawn portraits on huge sheets of paper crinkled to provide the wrinkles and facial structure to the faces rendered. The size and use of paper was impressive. Sadly for the artist, the view out the window was equally so. I can imagine much of the art viewed in this gallery looking better in a different space. There was also a room of resin worked that I liked but again I wanted to see it somewhere else. There was a giclee print that really touched me, of a monkey. It was called prayer monkey by Kirsty Whiten. I went back for a second look at this piece.

There was Colours gallery with burlap walls that lent a 1970s feel with a wide selection of colorful art and nice man running the place. We also visited Flaubert gallery and this gallery stood out for me. It was a large gallery and I liked a lot of what they had on display. They were playing jazz and offered us an espresso while we looked. Friendly, nice atmosphere and good art, a winning combination! I was particularly taken with the work of Claudia Massie.

There was the small Rosie Mckenzie gallery and what I remember most was a small space and a sweet gallery dog. We also visited Scotland Art a mid size gallery, with creaky wood plank floors and a spiral staircase that takes you downstairs view the art on the lower level.

I also visited the National Museum of Scotland, which is more of a natural history museum, but on the art front, notably I saw works by Andy Goldsworthy and Hiroshige .

So as you can see and read I have taken in a lot of art in the past two and a half weeks. It really has been amazing. I love the different spaces, the way the work is handled, the way one is greeted or not. It all comes together to create this "art world."

Also this past week, I got to meet many of my friends and acquaintances from my blipfoto community. As some of you know I keep a daily photo journal at blipfoto and that is how I met Stewart and why I am in Scotland. Well this past Sunday, we had a closing meet and greet for the Winter wonderland exhibition at Union Gallery. Many of the important players of blip came out to say hello, including the founder Joe Tree. I was pleased that my fellow blippers could see my art as well. It was a fun Sunday afternoon and I feel I have more than a few real friends in this city and surrounding area.

Besides all this art and culture viewing and community building, perhaps even more notable on a personal level, I actually created art this week! Yes!!! With few supplies and only a kitchen counter studio space I made nine new small works on paper and listed them in my shop on Etsy. Four pieces have already found homes! If you are enjoying my travel stories I hope you will consider buying one of the small works that I create while here. I will be making more small works this week, but until the new ones arrive, please consider visiting my shop and snapping up one of these.

After all that, yesterday I spent the day at the North Sea! It was just what I needed; the water is peace, the colors are art, and the sounds make me feel alive.

Until next week, keep fighting, the world needs your art.

You'll find me in the gallery

2012-01-20T06:31:00.000-06:00

This city is alive with art. This week many galleries were visited. So much art was seen on one day that it honestly might be a bit of a blur. I'll take a feast of art over a famine any day. This week I will try to record some of the art I saw as well as some of my impressions of it.

Let's start with Royal Scottish Academy, where I saw the work of Sylvia Wishart. The Royal Scottish Academy is an impressive building and I would be more inclined to call it a museum rather than gallery, but that practice doesn't seem as popular over here. It has exhibitions that change out regularly. We happened to catch the paintings of Scottish artist Sylvia Wishart. These were mostly landscape paintings and a ship seemed ever present somewhere in the imagery. I like ships. I like paintings. Sylvia's paintings were in a palette that felt a bit anemic. Her paintings felt more like unfinished under paintings, the colors cold and bleached out, left me wanting more. Without either color or form to grip us, we walked through this exhibition with speed.

As we were in the neighborhood, we decided a return visit to the Scottish National Gallery was in order, if you recall from last week's blog, this is where I saw a wide selection of paintings, from Rembrandt to Gauguin and all shades in between. The Turner water colors are currently on display there as well, but what gripped me the most were two works from the Scottish section of the exhibition in the basement of the gallery, the four panelled textile piece by Phoebe Anna Traquair was enjoyed even more the second time and this time the book about the artist was even purchased from the gift shop. The more I learn about Phoebe the more fascinating she and her work become. The other piece that had to be savored again was, Saint Bride by John Duncan, the delicate colors, the ethereal glow, the gentleness of the way the body is carried and the hands are laid, the tilt of the head. This painting is beauty personified. This is a work that has the power to make me almost weep at how perfectly everything has been executed.

Then there was a visit to the Talbot Rice Gallery, the exhibition Beholder was currently on display. I was very pleased to see a sweet still life by Morandi in the mix. It was surprising to find it there in the crush of contemporary and sometimes conceptual art. There was also a piece there by Yoko Ono. I think the highlight of Yoko's piece was the room that it was placed in. The spaces these works are shown in contribute so much at times to the work, but I am a sucker for architecture. The Talbot Rice Gallery consists of two unique showing spaces. The White gallery is just that, a white and bright open room while the Georgian gallery is ornate and over the top. It was interesting to walk into the neoclassical space and be treated to a selection of avant-garde art films in the dark. After walking through the films we found our way to a very old spiral staircase that took us up to the darkened mezzanine level. There we browsed some works from The University's Torrie collection, a bequest to the University of predominantly seventeenth century Dutch paintings.

From there we decided to visit a few commercial art galleries along Dundas street. The first stop was The Scottish Gallery, where we stumbled upon a brilliant exhibition of the work of William Johnstone, the Scottish father of modern abstract painting. The gallery had a varied collection of his works, a retrospective. I was inspired by the loose sumi type ink paintings as the colors of red and green mingled with the jet black. The Scottish Gallery was a lovely space and I felt quite comfortable in this high end gallery. It was good to see this important work and learn more about the roots of Scottish abstraction.

We also popped into the Di Rollo and Edinburgh galleries. These galleries were smaller and had a wider variety of styles and works. There was one artist that caught my eye in the Edinbugh gallery and that was George Grant. He had three pieces on display. I liked the surface he was working on and the blurry atmospheric work he creates. It may have even remind me a little of my dark landscape series from 2004. Both of these galleries were nice and the friendly and eclectic Di Rollo had a lovely view out the back window that made me want to curl up like a cat in the window seat and sleep.

Last but not least, we saw an exhibition of impossible Polaroids by artist and writer Ever Dundas. The exhibition, And this is Yesterday, was in a stairwell and as you took a step up, you took a step into the worlds captured in these little photographic stills. Influenced by music, Ever's work had a nostalgic feeling of warm days past. It was a lovely exhibition and it was great to meet the artist as well.

So there you have it. There is art all around me. In this grey statuesque city, the sun shines more often than I expected...

We're not in Arkansas anymore...

2012-01-13T17:58:00.000-06:00

View over Edinburgh, Scotland January 2012

As I predicted last week, here I am this week, writing my blog from a borrowed laptop while sitting on a green Ikea sofa in Edinburgh, Scotland. As you know, this blog is mostly about art, but for the next several months it will also serve as my travel journal, but as I plan to see and make a lot of art it should fit both of my needs. I hope you will enjoy following along on my adventures.

I left Arkansas on Tuesday and arrived in Edinburgh on Wednesday morning at the crack of dawn. This was my first solo journey by plane, the first time I had been on a plane since 1997 and my first time out of the country. The journey was smooth and really very manageable. So far I don't really seem to suffer from jet lag and in general I feel a sense of peace about me. As I have seemingly just conquered one of my biggest phobias of the past.

This is much more than just a trip for me. I can't even begin to explain what this trip means to me. I support myself off my art and I was able to buy a ticket and get myself here. I managed the system of travel and I managed my fears of the unknown. I thought my mind might race or take me to dark places, but it was completely still and has remained mostly still since I left Fayetteville Tuesday morning. The reset button has been pushed completely at this point. I am back on a trajectory that was set a long time ago when I was young and fearless. The options before me are endless. The options may not be easy, but they are guaranteed endless. I have a new confidence in myself now that I have made this journey. I have been building this confidence steadily over the years through my art. If it wasn't for my art I wouldn't be where I am today literally.

Edinburgh is a bustling city, the light is low in the sky during the winter. In the late afternoon the sunshine reminds me of what it looks like at 7a.m. in my part of the world, low and filtered. I don't mind the short days. It is cool, but not uncomfortable. I have been walking for miles each day, for a total of sixteen in the first 3 days. I enjoy the walking and do not miss my car or driving one bit. It is a great way to see the city and get a feel for where things are and how it all connects. I like how it is layered and stacked. A gradual incline up a street and before you know it you are looking down on another part of the city or even walking across a bridge that you would not expect.

As far as art goes, it is everywhere from the architecture to the bending reaching trees, to the sky and the views of the city. But as far as formal art goes, I have been to the Scottish National Gallery of Art which has a beautiful and far reaching collection. In the National Gallery, I saw a painting I had a relationship with in art school. It was Gauguin's painting, Vision of the Sermon. In art school I wrote a paper about this particular piece and even did a large copy of the painting. It was good to see it in person. It is a strange painting and I wish I had the paper I wrote with me, so I knew why I chose it and my thoughts at the time. I look forward to revisiting this gallery again soon, there were some textile pieces that were quite breathtaking, as well as a painting by John Duncan, called Saint Bride that I was entranced by.

Today, I visited the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. I will remember it mostly because of the beautiful walk to get there. I am not saying the art wasn't worthwhile or memorable, it is, but more for the rock star element of who created it than what it says or how it makes me feel. It is an impressive collection, but these kind of collections are the kind that one typically reads about in the magazines I typically try to avoid such as Art in America or Art News. The collection currently is comprised of art that might awe one with the scale of execution, or conceptual art that takes big money to produce, this is the art by the big names. But before I drop any of those names, I will mention the work in the collection that did move me. I saw two Kurt Schwitters' pieces that I enjoyed. His skeletal book spines threading across the paper collage in conversation with his design sensibilities. I also saw two pieces by Barbara Hepworth. The two wood sculptures were curved, soft, rich and organic.

For those interested in the flashy names. I saw A Girl by Ron Mueck. I had seen this work in the magazines mentioned above in the past as I flipped through them while waiting for paint to dry. To see A Girl in person is amazing as the execution seems flawless and the scale impressive as it takes up an entire large room right off the main entrance of the gallery. But once you get past the wow factor there is nothing left, or at least there was nothing left for me. I also saw a sculpture by Damien Hirst, this piece was of a pregnant woman, you can see the baby inside and a skull is at the woman's feet. It was impressive as well, but once I walked around it and thought, "Oh that's a Hirst," I simply walked away.

This exhibition did get me thinking about what art is and what it does and what I need it to do to reach me personally. Perhaps the simple fact that the work confuses me or leaves me feeling ambivalent may be its sole purpose. It leaves me wanting more. It also leaves me wanting the past. Call me old fashion but you can give me some abstract expressionism any day. To see some of the highlights from this exhibition including A Girl, click here.

While some of the work I saw today left me a bit cold, seeing the beautiful buildings housing the art, the sun streaming through the gallery windows, the Gormley Sculpture knee deep in the Water of Leith, the recreated studio of Sir Eduardo Paolozzi and so much more left me feeling warm, bright and inspired.

And that is what art does. The good, the bad, the ugly, it makes us wrestle in our heads, it moves us, shakes us and even appalls us. It leaves us wanting more and better and sometimes it leaves us wanting to make our own and that is a victory for all of us on the planet.

Make your art, shake us up.

Rambling on my mind

2012-01-06T22:02:00.000-06:00

Thanks to everyone who popped in last week and read my year in review blog. I would give you all a gold star if I had some to magically give you. I really appreciate your time in reading all of that and your supportive and encouraging comments. I have the best readers, friends, patrons and supporters and I am grateful.

This past week I mostly suffered with a cold and then took it easy. I also prepared for my Transatlantic journey. This will be my final blog typed from my desk in the United States until May when I return. Next week I will be writing from Edinburgh, Scotland on Stewart's laptop whilst sitting on his green ikea sofa. Well, that is my plan of course, I actually might be sitting at his ikea table.

I am very excited about my upcoming journey and I will be documenting it here each week with photographs, small paintings, ramblings, writings, you name it. When I am inspired, that inspiration will be chronicled here each week. If it is getting too much to fit in just one post a week, I might break my own rules and post more often, but you can rest assured my blog readers are going to know what is moving me and inspiring my art and life while I am abroad.

Strangely, I don't think I have any expectations. I know it will be rainy and grey. I know it will be different and I know it is a city full of culture and art. I know I am going to be happy to see Stewart. I know I will paint small works on paper while I am there and that I will be having a showing of those works while I am there.

I am looking forward to not spending so much time on the computer. I am looking forward to walking every day to places that I have never been. I am looking forward to meeting people that I am only acquainted with on the Internet. Don't make me say some of my best friends are from the Internet.... Oh but they are, but they won't be for much longer! I am a part of a global network of artists and art lovers and I can't wait to meet them all. That idea is very exciting to me. There is so much I am looking forward to doing and seeing. I am also looking forward to just being.

I am very excited to be able to watch and be with Stewart as he works on his upcoming exhibition and I am more than thrilled that I will be there for his opening.

I am going to a place I have never been. I am stepping out of a comfort zone that in the past, made even thinking about this adventure impossible. I have to know that this will change me as a person and that in turn this will influence and inspire my future work. Thinking about this is almost too much for me. It fills me with hope and feels quite magical.

Thanks again for your support. I can't wait to share my adventures with you. Until next week!

Love,
Megan

2011: Year in Review

2011-12-30T14:21:00.001-06:00

During the last week of each year, I try to do a year in review blog to condense and summarize my life as an artist. I do this mostly for me, so that I can look back and remember the ups and downs of the past year. As it is happening it is so easy to forget what we are living through and I find taking the time to look back and reflect illuminating. It also helps me to get excited about the year to come.

So, here goes! And once again, if you actually read this post through to the end, you deserve some type of gold star or medallion.

2011 started with my largest commission request to date. I painted a 7x5.5 foot painting for the entry way of a private residence. It was an interesting experience. I remember it was a bit of a struggle, simply from the physicality of the painting size itself, as I am only 5ft 2". Also, the clients wanted a painting that spoke of my earlier color works, specifically the painting called Olivine from 2007, that had always been one of my favorite paintings. It took a while, but we finally got there and the client was ultimately pleased.

At the same time I was working on my commission, I started a new series on paper, called Maps of the Night. I remember the excitement that propelled me through that series combining words and charcoal on crinkly paper. It was the beginning of my documentation of the new relationship in my life with fellow artist Stewart Bremner from Scotland. The Maps of the Night were a way to feel closer to Stewart as he was asleep across the ocean six hours ahead. I remember feeling nervous about this process, as I shared my excitement of this very new long distance romance in a cryptic manner, through the one liners that floated across the drawn page. I remember many long nights painting this series and I remember feeling so pleased when the series was a sell out. I took a risk and was richly rewarded. There were twenty paintings in this series.

I was also very busy working within the Fayetteville Underground. If you want to read a summary of what I did as Co-Artistic Director at the Fayetteville Underground, you can click here.

After the commission was completed and the Maps of the Night had all found their homes I began the Flashcard series. Works on paper were a big part of my year, it is often an affordable medium and if you know me, you also know that I feel strongly about the power of original art and that I believe everyone should be able to afford it. I created twenty-nine of these miniature works and this series sold out as well.

While these works on paper were selling, my older color works and paintings from last year's series Falling Into Sound were selling as well. I met a lot of wonderful people in 2011, new friendships, new collectors, and new fellow artists all came into my life to make it richer and better.

While this blog is based on my artistic life, I have to mention Stewart Bremner's first visit to Fayetteville in April and his exhibition Iteration/Span with Craig Munro in May at the Hive Gallery. We scheduled that show long before Stewart and I were in a relationship and I am so glad we did. It served as the extra impetus perhaps for him to get on a plane to come over here and for us to meet for the first time. A very magical moment. Stewart has been a huge inspiration for my work this year and a huge source of happiness. We also created nine paintings together side by side in my little studio in the basement of the underground. The series became known as A Question of Chemistry and by the end of it there was no question. After a few initial stumbling blocks, we managed to create a meaningful and cohesive body of work. It was a thrill to work with Stewart and we were both pleased by the attention the work received.

While Stewart was here, the title for my next series Sometimes I love you and other stories was born. I had the title and the concept before I had started the work. I remember starting to paint alone again after working with Stewart was more difficult than I had anticipated. My thoughts from this time as quoted in my blog, "this body of work seems like it is going to be a stretch, a bit like pulling teeth with a heavy dose of trepidation but also unbridled excitement and inspiration." That pretty much sums of the experience of putting my heart on the line and on display for everyone to read and see. I created twenty-two paintings in this series for my exhibition in September in the Vault Gallery at the Underground.

As I was painting the Sometimes series, I was also creating another small paper series as I explored my ideas for working my own typed words into the paintings. This series consisted of ten pieces called Letters never sent. This series sold out as well.

While all this was happening, I went through a divorce and learned that the artists had lost the lease at the Fayetteville Underground and that we would have to move out in January. It was a lot to take in and handle, and truthfully I am not sure if I really handled it or just put it aside while I focused on what I could control, which was my work. I am very lucky to have such a good and solid support network of friends.

Sometimes I love you and other stories debuted in September and Stewart returned to Fayetteville as well. He designed a brilliant postcard for my show, updated my website and created a promotional video that I adore. It was a wonderful time and I sold nine pieces during my exhibition. Also two of these paintings were selected for publication in CALYX journal. CALYX has been publishing a high-quality journal of art and literature by women since it was founded in 1976.

Sometimes I love you and other stories from stewart bremner on Vimeo.

In December four of my Sometimes I love you and other other stories works are shown in Edinburgh, Scotland as part of the Winter Wonderland exhibition at the UNION gallery. I love that the works are shown next to Stewart's on the gallery wall across the ocean which seemed fitting. I am even more thrilled when my works are written about in this article.

Also in December, I had my first solo exhibition after three years at the Blue Moon Gallery in Hot Springs, Arkansas. They have represented my work since 2004. The exhibition was called, A certain trajectory and was a combination of Falling into Sound and Sometimes I love you works. It was well received and I enjoyed being at the gallery for the opening.

I returned home and realized that I needed to make some more small works for the holidays and I updated my etsy shop artmaven with a new series called, Silently and still. I enjoyed working in my old attic studio as I reflected on my time at the Underground. I participated in my first Cyber Monday sale on Etsy and it went well. I also had a sale of my older color works and many collectors snapped them up at a steal of a deal. While this was happening, my etsy work was being featured consistently in many treasuries.

While I created the last series of the year, Silently and Still, I started thinking about creating small works in Scotland with limited supplies and space. Soon after, I book my ticket for my trip in January! I am very excited about my upcoming adventure and the opportunities that will come with it. I will be showing new small works that I create in the new year at a cafe that shows art in Edinburgh. The idea of this makes me happy and feels right.

As I let go of my studio and my experiences at the Fayetteville Underground, my exhibition schedule starts filling up for 2012, and I move forward on the path.

2011 concluded with one hundred and nine paintings created and one hundred and ten new and old paintings sold. I am amazed, proud, grateful and very ready to start working on the next series on a different continent.

Thank you to everyone who has had a kind word for me this year or a hug, a smile, an email. Thanks to my supporters and patrons, my gallery owners, my studio mates, special thanks to Jennifer L. Fay for her love and support and for a lot of paper! Thanks to Stewart Bremner for all the music, for inspiring me daily and for doing the impossible. x.

Until next week and next year, keep fighting. The world needs your art!

Ready to start...

2011-12-23T21:58:00.000-06:00

This is where one story ends and another begins... I thought I would be writing my year in review blog today, but I was reminded that I still have until next week to do that. So today I will take the time to mention the future.

Soon I will take my first solo trip in a plane and I will take my first trip overseas. I will be going to Scotland on January 10th- May 3rd. I am very excited! I am looking forward to leaving my town and getting some perspective on the world and my place in it. I am looking forward to seeing new things and meeting new people. I am looking forward to the inspiration and the freedom that shooting through the sky will allow. Like time travel, landing in a new place where everything is similar yet different and where I can regroup and become whole again. This has been an exceptional year but it has also been extremely taxing and exhausting. I am hoping to slip through this portal to a kind of renewal.

I don't think I will return the same person. In fact I know I won't. I am not the same person I was a year ago. I have grown a lot as a person and as an artist through taking calculated risks and by being vulnerable and surrounded by love. I am sure this trip will provide me many opportunities to continue on this path.

Once in Scotland, I am really looking forward to seeing my work on the UNION gallery walls, in their current exhibition Winter Wonderland. As many of you know, I have four pieces from my "Sometimes I love you and other stories" series currently at the gallery in Edinburgh and I have only seen pictures of them. It will be surreal to walk into the gallery and stand before them, there on the wall. I was thrilled when my work was recently mentioned in a review of the exhibition. You can read it here. I was already so pleased to be showing at the gallery but to have my work chosen and written about is an extra special thrill. Validation from an objective source and from someone in another country feels important. I want to remember this moment.

In other happy news, I just found out that I will have an exhibition of some of my new small works on paper in Edinburgh in February and/or March at a local popular cafe. I am grateful to have this opportunity as it will help me have a focus for my work while I am there. This was one reason for my recent collection of small etsy paintings, I wanted to imagine working in a small space and with simplified materials. I will of course let folks know about the work and the exhibition as it happens. Just stay tuned to my blog to stay in the know.

My exhibition schedule is shaping up for 2012.

February/March: I thought I would find you here, a joint exhibition by Megan Chapman and Stewart Bremner, Northwest Arkansas Community College, Bentonville, Arkansas. This exhibition will showcase several of Stewart's individual paintings and mine, teamed with the remaining Question of Chemistry series paintings that we created last May.

February/March: Selected small works on paper by Megan Chapman, Embo, Edinburgh. These will be all new paper works created in Scotland.

July: All new combined paintings by Megan Chapman and Stewart Bremner, Art Center of the Ozarks, Springdale Arkansas. We are very excited to pick up where we left off and create all new works for this exhibition. When we return to Arkansas in May we will get busy painting in the heat of the summer.

I have also submitted my work to a couple of juried exhibitions, I will let you know if I get in any of them and how they impact my schedule in the coming months.

So the future seems bright with travel, love, culture, art and exhibitions. I am also hoping for renewal, big ideas and of course lots of music.

I just want to say thank you again to all my friends, family, art supporters and patrons. I love sharing this journey with you and the support and validation you give me and my work is unparalleled. You have helped me discover my truth, face my fears and live this live. You have been the smiles, the helping hands, the financial support, and the open hearts that I needed this year. You have been the ones I have worked for.

Thank you.

Ungrounded

2011-12-16T23:20:00.001-06:00

The studios at the Underground are coming apart at the seams, the brushes, canvases and easels are being packed away. Tables moved and disassembled, the spaces we came to know as the studios of our peers are not the same. They are becoming the empty basement office spaces that they once were. The mark we left on One East Center is being erased as the artists pack up their studios just before the holidays.

I can say "when one door closes another one opens" and I can hope it is true. I can put a positive spin on it in the news and say we will be back in January in a new space, bringing you the same great art and artists that you have come expect from us for over the past two and a half years. But I honestly can't be sure. Where is the group of artists that became known as the Fayetteville Underground going? Where is the door that is about to open? I don't know. There are options, there are dreams, and there is reality.

Many of us worked very hard to bring the city something that the citizens and the artists seemed to want, need and appreciate and I am truly saddened that it was cut short by no fault of the artists or our landlord. It was an amazing run and I have never been more proud to be affiliated with an organization.

Who knows what will happen with the artists of the underground. Many will move back home to their abandoned extra bedrooms, attics and basement studios because it is easier than not knowing where they are going, and it is a way for them to control their own destiny. A few will stick together and continue trying to build the Fayetteville Art Alliance, trying to find studios together and manning a gallery, perhaps recruiting new artists into the fold and attempting new strategies. Some will just take a break and stop producing art for a while or perhaps look for gallery representation elsewhere. Perhaps there is space for some in the Old Post Office basement. As artists we may fragment and splinter yet there will be a tie that connects us, our time at the Fayetteville Underground.

The Fayetteville Underground taught me so much about people and it helped me become fully invested in my community. Working with many other organizations and groups was exciting and beneficial for all involved. Getting to know so many of the artists throughout the community was wonderful as well. I met people just like me who worked hard to create the work they needed to, in order to be true to themselves. Many amazing artists passed through the gallery doors of the Fayetteville Underground during these years. It was an honor to meet and get to know not only their work but them personally. We shared a lot of ups and downs together as a family, such as illnesses, separations, divorce, money troubles, depression, anxiety, artistic blows, blocks, and more than a few parking tickets! We also shared new love, special commissions, big sales, artistic triumphs, new visions and opportunities, inspiration and many bottles of beer, glasses of wine, and good meals in the restaurants and bars around the square.

I can't stand to see my artistic family fragmented. It is sad to see us come ungrounded and lose the vision that we as a team so brilliantly executed for so long. If I am willing to dream big, I hope we rise to this challenge and create something new, perhaps something never seen here before. Something perfect for this sweet town of art lovers and buyers. Studios on one side of town and a gallery on the other? Pop up shops in abandoned buildings? Take over a motel and turn it into a gallery for a week? Take the basement of the Old Post Office by storm creating a new hot spot? Retreating to the calm of Mt. Sequoyah and hoping that the patrons will follow?

I love these big plans and big dreams. One of my big dreams came true when I rented my studio at the Underground in April of 2009.

From my Journal:

Monday 20 April 2009: Studio 19
I have just returned from the leasing agent's office and I now have a key to my very own studio space downtown. I can't wait to move in and paint. This is so much more than just a key to me...

I guess it is time to wake up now. I have some boxes to pack and a studio door to close one last time and soon.

Are we having fun yet?

2011-12-09T21:09:00.001-06:00

Winter Wonderland at Union Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland

December 8th-January 24th.

I love my job and I rarely complain about it as I feel I am truly privileged to do the work I am on the planet to do, the work I have trained for, and the work that I love to share with the world. However there are various negative stereotypes and ideas about artists that get in my way and clutter the path I walk. I have been thinking about these and thought it warranted a discussion.

1. Being an artist must be fun! It must be just great to lock yourself away from the world and play!

I hear this a lot from folks after I tell them what I do. Most of them mean well and most of them hope that my job is fun, because perhaps theirs is not. I understand. We all would like to be having fun more often than not. However, if I came up to you and said, "Wow! You are an account executive? That must be fun! A surgeon? Fun! A mail carrier? Even more fun!" You might get a little huffy... Not at the suggestion of fun per say but the idea that your job is easy, child like, simple, or less than.

You might think that I am taking people's comments too seriously or that I am being defensive. But imagine if you had studied for years, spending time and money to work up the ranks in your profession year after year and then over and over again you are dealt this patronizing comment. I'm not playing.

I think this comment comes from this dreamy and ignorant idea of the artist, the person who either has a trust fund enabling them to frivolously play at being an artist or the idea of the overly emotional sensitive soul that just can't quite make in the real world so they called themselves an artist and now they are safely ensconced in their attic studio with their only true friends, their paints and brushes.

Being an artist is working a job like anyone else. Being an artist is a legitimate career. As an artist you produce, promote and sell your work. Sure it can be fun at times, but it can be equally hard and unsatisfactory like any job.

2. Artists only use one part of their brain, you know that zany art part!

I hear this again and again in varying and worrisome terms, this idea is so wide spread that artists actually start to believe it themselves and perpetuate the myth. Making art is a huge part of my life, but being a successful artist means I also have to use a whole other set of skills. I am my own secretary, publicist, marketer, sales person, accountant, shipper, and the list goes on and on. I am an independent business owner as an artist and I have to use a business mind to make sure that I succeed. I have to keep an eye on the market, I have to network and stay connected to my patrons, just like any other small business owner.

I have had many intelligent conversations on the subject of the business of marketing ones art. People often act surprised that I can carry my weight on these subjects or that I even make it on time to the meeting (you know how flaky artists can be about time). Again, this is just another stereotype that needs to be put in its place.

I love my job and I hope you love yours too. Just try to remember I am showing up and working just like you and that I am using my whole brain while I do it. Artists are multidimensional people that work insanely hard at what they do, at least the successful ones.

If you want to compliment an artist, offer them your validation, tell them how hard you know it is and tell them not to give up. Tell them that you value their work and you appreciate what they offer to the community. You are likely to have a much richer conversation with that artist and you will have made their night.

To be seen for what we are and to be appreciated for what we make and bring to our communities and world through our art is what we are striving for.

************

As promised we have a winner! Randomly selected.... Sharon Simmons!!! Congratulations- You will receive this miniature paper painting from my etsy shop!

A change in the atmosphere

When I look into the future (I see this)

2011-12-07T20:26:00.001-06:00

Currently available through UNION gallery

Hello Blog Readers!

I was in Hot Springs last Friday (hence my post being late) for my opening for A Certain Trajectory at the Blue Moon Gallery. The turnout was lovely. I really enjoyed being back down at the gallery for the first time in several years. It was wonderful to see my friends and fellow artists down there as well as talk to all the art lovers out for gallery walk! My exhibition is up through the month so if you are passing though the Hot Springs area please don't miss it. There are several affordable pieces still available.

I am so thrilled to be a part of the Winter Wonderland exhibition at UNION gallery in Edinburgh, Scotland. Four of my recent paintings from my Sometimes I love you and other stories series will be included in this exhibition. The opening is tomorrow night, December 8th so if you are Edinburgh please go! Stewart Bremner has six pieces showing there as well. I can't wait to see a photographs of the exhibition! That will make it even more real for me. It truly is a highlight of my career as an artist.

From UNION gallery's website, "A wonderful, mixed exhibition of work from some of the gallery’s regular exhibitors, including new work from award-winning artists Colin Brown and Audrey Grant, Janet Melrose RSW and Trevor Jones. We are also delighted to be exhibiting work from the nomadic painter Tadeusz Deregowski along with Olivia Irvine, Stewart Bremner and, new to the gallery, American artist Megan Chapman." Winter Wonderland: 8 December 2011 - 24 January 2012

In other news, Stewart and I have another combined exhibition scheduled for which we will create all new paintings! We are very excited about this opportunity. There is so much to do before all that, but it is exciting to have it in the back of our minds, we look forward to the challenge!

I am still having my half off holiday sale of my older color works, please contact me if you would like more information on any of the pieces you see here. I also have some affordable small works on paper available in my Etsy shop ArtMaven.

I think that is about all I have to report. Thank you for reading my blog, checking in on facebook, twitter and for coming to my shows. You make my path so much brighter.

Holiday Giveaway Alert! Leave a comment on today's entry and be entered to win a small piece of my art! I will randomly draw a winner and announce it on Friday, December 9th!

Moving forward through art...

2011-11-25T10:51:00.001-06:00

Happy Black Friday or Buy Nothing Day or just regular old Friday! Here I am with my weekly installment of what is going on in my art world. Let's see...

Last week fellow artist Jennifer Libby Fay and I drove down to Hot Springs to deliver my exhibition, A Certain Trajectory to the Blue Moon Gallery. My exhibition will open on December 2nd on First Friday gallery walk from 5-9pm. I hope all my friends and supporters from Hot Springs and Little Rock will pop in and say hello. It has been a long time since I have been at the gallery for a First Friday and I am looking forward to it.

Here is the press blurb for my upcoming exhibition:

Megan Chapman will be returning after three years for a solo exhibition at theBlue Moon Gallery in December. A CertainTrajectory contains paintings from two of her most recent bodies ofwork. Previously, Chapman was known for her richly-colored mixed mediapaintings. However, in these pieces she began the transition into moreminimalist work, featuring a near monochromatic palette comprised of varioustones of dark charcoal, translucent shades of blue, yellow, rust, and theoccasional flash of green. Several pieces in this exhibition contain theartist's own words typed on paper torn from old books and give the viewer thesense of reading pages out of a diary or letters to a distant lover.

In other news, the day before my exhibition, on December 1st it will be our last First Thursday as the Fayetteville Underground and at the location that has been our home for over two and a half years. I am sure it will be a bittersweet evening; I don't think I have really made sense of it all yet. All I know is that the artists will be having lots of special deals and a great selection of works for every budget and taste. Many of our visiting artists will return to show their work one last time in the Revolver gallery and the Hive Annex (the studio behind the Hive gallery). This is a great time to take advantage of great deals and score the perfect piece. All of my remaining color works will be on half price sale as I try to liquidate my older inventory to make room for new ideas and to raise money for my future travels.

For more information about our new organization please keep visiting www.morphtheorg.com and learn ways you can help, as we try to find a permanent home and come back better than ever in January as the Fayetteville Art Alliance.

I have been busy this last week as well, restocking my etsy shop with fresh new affordable works. It is always fun to restock the etsy shop and get to know the other talented etsy sellers. I have been very fortunate as my new works have been selected for many lovely treasuries and I have been asked to be a part of two impressive etsy teams. If you are looking for small, affordable, one of a kind works of art, then please visit my shop. These piece are fresh and elegant and will pop into any 5x7" frame making presentation a snap! I am currently offering free shipping and I will happily ship to anywhere in the world!

I think that is about all I have for you this week. I know that some bigger ideas are brewing, it is just a matter of time... Until then keep fighting!

Gratitude

2011-11-18T21:20:00.001-06:00

A sneak peak of my upcoming exhibition, A Certain Trajectory

December 2011 Blue Moon Gallery Hot Springs Arkansas.

Dear Lovely Readers,

As some of you may have noticed, I skipped a week. I am not pleased about this but that is how it has to be sometimes. Life got in the way and I was happy to let it. I hope you all have been well in your art worlds and lives. Today, I just wanted to remind myself of some things and share some positive aspects of being an artist. I am grateful and here are some of the reasons why.

1. I have been showing my art in galleries since 1995. In those sixteen years I have been in over twenty featured and solo exhibitions and in over thirty group shows.

2. My work has been allowed to grow and change over these years because I have had good mentors in my life as well as friends, fellow artists and people around me who have supported, influenced and inspired me and encouraged my growth.

3. My art has put me in contact with lovely and diverse people all over the country and the world. My understanding of the world has been broadened because of art.

4. I am able to support myself doing what I know I am on the planet to do. I am able to express my inner most dreams, fears, secrets as well as passions and share them and give an image to feelings many viewers might not be able to express.

I am grateful for a lot more than this, but this seems like a good start.

In other news, I have been thinking about a new series of works. I am quite excited about the concepts, and truly I am just excited to be thinking of art again. I have been so caught up in the logistics of art and arts organizations that my work and that part of my brain have taken a back seat.

Soon the work will pour out of me again and I can't wait to share it with you. Thank you for being a part of it all.

Stay tuned....

Art update!

2011-11-04T14:19:00.000-05:00

he did the impossible

sold

I have been hammered with work (not painting) as the Underground morphs into a new organization. We are a dedicated group of individuals who have worked too hard to make the Underground what it has become today to let it slide or fade away. We are all exhausted and yet at the same time deeply encouraged by the support of the community. I could write a lot about this experience and one day I am sure I will, but I thought I might return the focus to my art career for a split second.

So, here is my news. In December I will be having a solo exhibition at the Blue Moon Gallery in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It will be my first exhibition in three years at the gallery that has represented me since 2004. They have always shown my color work and have stood by me as my work has progressed and changed over the years, I am glad that I will be able to show some of my newer white series work in that part of the state. This exhibition will be a combination of my two most recent bodies of work, Falling into Sound and Sometimes I love you and other stories. I will be coming up with a title soon and picking just the right pieces to go together for this exhibition. I hope you will join me in Hot Spring for First Friday gallery walk December 2 from 5-9. It has been awhile since I have been down for a gallery walk so I am very excited. I hope I can get some of my fellow Underground studio mates to join me down there.

Also, in December I have been invited to show several works from my Sometimes I love you and other stories series in a gallery in Edinburgh, Scotland! I am very excited that some of these recent works will be shown at the Union Gallery in their annual Christmas show. I am sad I won't be traveling with them, but all in good time....

In other news, I just received word that two of my paintings. Home and He did the impossible, from my most recent series will be published in the winter edition of CALYX journal. CALYX is a journal that has been publishing fine art and literature by women since 1976. I am thrilled.

So, while I am currently not painting much my career as an artist keeps on moving forward. I know soon, I will have the time and the space to work again in the way I am accustomed, but first I must help as artists of the underground find a new home and get settled. Thanks for stopping by and for always reading, thinking, talking to me about my work. Your support is instrumental to my success.

Have you helped morph the org yet? You can hear my fellow studio mate, Sabine Schmidt and me in a recent radio interview about the Underground artists and how we are morphing the org by clicking here.

We are all in this together. Keep fighting, the world needs your art.

Viva!

2011-10-29T15:52:00.001-05:00

The Fayetteville Underground is Morphing into Something New

Artists to Launch a New Nonprofit Community Arts Organization

The artists and the board of the Fayetteville Underground gathered last week in the Vault Gallery, for a meeting to discuss future plans of the organization. It was at this meeting that the board revealed they would be dissolving The Fayetteville Underground at the end of the year. They did not leave open the option for the artists to carry on with the current organization. After the meeting the artists stayed to discuss the news and plan for the future. A decision was made by the artists to create a new arts organization based on the current model.

Studio Artist and current Co-Artisic Director of the Fayetteville Underground, Megan Chapman, commented, “A lot of time and energy goes into creating something as special as The Fayetteville Underground. Every studio artist, every craft artist and every visiting artist that has shown at The Underground has made it what it is today. The artists know that we can take what we have learned through our experience here, and go forward to create something new that is even more impressive and exciting for all the artists involved, as well as for the community at large.”

The November and December First Thursdays at the Fayetteville Underground will continue as planned. The artists have launched a website to help transition to a new organization, and individuals can find the website at: morphtheorg.com. The artists are also asking that community members help them select a new name, by voting online or in person at the November First Thursday. Voting will end on November 7th, and the winning name will be released the following day. As the Fayetteville Underground takes a new shape, the artists ask that the community continue their support and direct any ideas, proposals or donations to the website at: morphtheorg.com.

Please remember! The Fayetteville Underground will remain open through December. Please join us for our November and December opening receptions on the First Thursday of each month from 5-8pm. Our regular gallery hours are W-F 12-5 and Saturday 10-5 and we will maintain our hours and our galleries until the end of the year. Thank you for your support and please help us as we move forward.

What I know is true...

2011-10-14T15:07:00.000-05:00

There has been a lot of talk about the Fayetteville Underground lately. A lot of talk from artists, friends, patrons, supporters, media and board members: you name it, people are talking. It has been as interesting to be a part of, as it has been to overhear and watch. As Andy Warhol was quoted as saying, "Don't pay any attention to what they write about you. Just measure it in inches." With all of this buzz in the air, sometimes I just need to cut through the chatter and remember what I know is true of my experience at the Fayetteville Underground. There are many amazing things that I have been a part of at the Fayetteville Underground and some that I am directly responsible for. This is a list for me, so I can remember.

When I joined The Underground, I wanted a place to work away from my home studio. That was my only expectation. The first year I was there I didn't show my work in the galleries or sell my work from my studio as I was under contract with the lovely ddp gallery on Mountain St. Since the organization needed money and couldn't make any from me, I worked more volunteer hours than most to subsidize my rent and prove my worth. I wasn't counting the hours though, because I soon knew I was a part of something bigger than just a studio and that what you put into the Fayetteville Underground was what you got out of it. When the ddp gallery closed, I started showing and selling my work through The Underground as well and I was overwhelmed not only with sales but also all the opportunities that seemed to come my way. Suddenly it became apparent that we, the artists, were building something Fayetteville had never seen before.

On Saturday April, 25th, 2009 soon after moving my studio to the Underground I created the Fayetteville Underground Blog, to help familiarize the public with what was happening in the basement of the empty "old bank building." At first this blog was more in depth, as I interviewed artists and compiled press information for them with pictures of our new location.

I still maintain the blog today, posting special events and press information for upcoming shows, as well as other notable mentions for the Underground community. It serves as a small record of what we have accomplished in a short period of time and of all the brilliant artists that have crossed our path.

Besides starting the Fayetteville Undground blog, I was directly responsible for bringing many exhibitions to the Fayetteville Underground, listed below. This was an enormous task. There were countless emails, chats, diagrams, photographs, writings, ideas and questions sent back and forth between myself and some of the artists. Sometimes I even funded these shows, printing them in house, as well as mounting them. I also installed many of the exhibitions as well, handled sales and shipped the works back. I learned so much and have such a different understanding and appreciation of gallery owners and artists because of this. Thanks to all the visiting artists who had a show at the Fayetteville Underground. It was a pleasure working with you and your brilliant art. Thanks to Henry Turner for printing and installation assistance on the Institute du loop and Christian Demare exhibitions.

Matters of Consequence: January 2010 : Revolver Gallery
Christopher Baber and Michael Shaefer from Hot Springs, Arkansas

Strangers and Not So Strange: Feburary 2010: Hive Gallery
Craig Earl Nelson from Fayetteville, Arkansas

A place to drown: July 2010: Hive Gallery
Institute du loop from Taipei, Taiwan

Ghosts in the Landscape #2: August 2010: Hive Gallery
Christian Demare from Paris, France

North, West, East, South: September 2010: Hive Gallery
Thomas Petillo from Nashville,Tennessee

Theft by finding: April 2011: Hive Gallery
Steven Heaton, Rob Kedwards, John Spurgeon (aka Shakesmyteeth) all from U.K.

Iteration/Span: May 2011: Hive Gallery
Stewart Bremner from Edinburgh, Scotland and Craig Munro from Birmingham, England

Mise en Place: July 2011: Hive Gallery
Michele Maule from Portland, Oregon

The World Without Us: September 2011: Hive Gallery
Steven Heaton from Manchester, England

Animal Technology: October 2011: Hive Gallery
Flannery Grace Horan from Little Rock, Arkansas and Becki Lamascus from Fayetteville, Arkansas

As well as the exhibitions, I also gave several talks about my art, the Fayetteville Underground, the shows I curated and marketing art in general. I gave a lecture to the Boston Mountain Potters Association, on ways to successfully market one's art. I also gave the talk Art Collecting 101: The Thrill of Original Art at the Revolver gallery and gave a two-hour lecture/tour for students of The Osher Institute, called Artful Spaces: A visit to the Fayetteville Underground.

In July 2010 I gave an art talk about English artist, Institute du Loop's exhibition and in August I spoke about the work of French photographer Christian Demare. In September I lead another lecture/tour for the students of the Osher Institute and in November I gave an informal lecture about my work to a group of university students studying with artist Cindy Wiseman. Speaking about art and engaging the community is something I really enjoy doing. It was such a thrill to create my own opportunities and give back to the community at the same time.

Besides those speaking engagements, I often speak monthly with our local National Public Radio affiliate, KUAF's correspondent Jacqueline Froelich on Ozarks at Large, about our upcoming exhibitions. If I am not speaking, I am helping to facilitate the other artist's interviews.

Besides these exciting and more obvious tasks there are many other organizational things I do behind the scenes of the organization along with Co-Artistic Director Jennifer Libby Fay. We have helped schedule the artist's gallery shifts so that The Underground maintains regular gallery hours. We have also created the bulk of the programming for the Fayetteville Underground. Many weekly meetings are spent reviewing artist's submissions for exhibitions and studios from near and far. We spend hours coordinating with visiting artists, studio artists, and craft artists to fill our four galleries each month with top notch shows. We have also encouraged our fellow Underground artists to curate additional shows creating a varied and inclusive exhibition schedule.

Jennifer and I also coordinate the publicity with studio artist Matthew Depper, to make sure all the artists showing at the Fayetteville Underground get the publicity they deserve, as well as supervising the snappy banners, posters and vinyl letters that Matthew designs and orders, to help make us the professional organization that we have become.

A lot of time and energy goes into creating something as special as The Underground. Every studio artist, every craft artist and every visiting artist that has shown at The Underground has made it what it is today. I am grateful for all the opportunities the Fayetteville Underground has given me and my fellow artists.

I could never have done any of this without Jennifer Libby Fay. We make a brilliant team and I thank The Fayetteville Underground for our friendship and for showing us just what we can accomplish, all the while working on our own art and watching our own careers flourish. It has been truly amazing.

Thanks to the building owners, Ted and Leslie Belden for letting a dream grow and flourish for as long as it did in that beautiful space. Thanks to the art lovers and patrons for their support and encouragement, smiles and purchases.

What I know is that I am an independent business owner as an artist and I will continue to make my art and I will continue to share it and all the art I love with the community that surrounds me.

Connections

2011-10-07T16:37:00.001-05:00

The closing of eyes, mixed media on canvas 12x12"
© 2011 Megan Chapman $250

What a week! My exhibition, Sometimes I love you and other stories came down last Saturday. Then rather than feeling too sad about it, I quickly changed gears and helped artist Stewart Bremner fix up his new studio space at the Underground. It was quite amazing to see all the work he has managed to do while he has been visiting. You can read more about that at his blog- he has lots of exciting news to share as well!

Then there was a whirl wind trip down to Hot Springs, Arkansas (ranked number 4 small arts community in America) just to get away, look at some art, and check in with the Blue Moon Gallery. I have been represented by the Blue Moon since 2004. They were one the first larger commercial galleries that accepted my work and for that I will always be grateful. Sadly, I have been so busy at the Fayetteville Underground that I haven't gone down there as often as I should. It was lovely to see everyone and I was thrilled when they offered me a solo exhibition in December! That is right around the corner! I look forward to sharing some of my Falling into sound works with them and perhaps a few new pieces... we will see!

In other exhibition news, I was also offered an exhibition at the Northwest Arkansas Community College in Bentonville, Arkansas. This exhibition will be a two months in March and April. So I have things to do and soon!

I still don't know what I am supposed to paint next, and I probably won't know for a while. I am trying not to let that bother me and just focus on submitting my work to galleries across the country and work on getting more exhibitions scheduled. I am also quite busy with the Underground., as many of my readers know we have to find a new home soon, as we must be out by Janurary 15th. I will miss my studio and our beautiful galleries. I have learned so much and worked with so many talented people at the Underground. It really is a thrill and it is so exciting to see all the opportunities that have opened up for all the artists who have worked here over the years.

I think that is all I have for you this week, until next week keep fighting!

PS. Have you checked out my new website? Have you liked me on facebook?

Thank you.

What comes next?

2011-09-30T18:28:00.000-05:00

Diving within © Megan Chapman 2011

mixed media on canvas 30x40" $1,350

A month has come and gone and as I write this, my exhibition Sometimes I love you and other stories will close tomorrow at 5pm. It is always a strange feeling when a show comes to a close. A slight sense of loss or sadness hovers around me. Don't get me wrong, I am extremely happy and pleased at the response my exhibition has received and the sales were fantastic as well. Taking down the show will take mere minutes yet preparing for the show and installing it takes months and hours. The pieces that have sold will be wrapped up and off to find their new homes while the other ones will go back to my studio and wait for another opportunity to be seen.

What will I paint next? What will the next series be? Where will my work be shown next? These questions flood my brain. I will experience the post show blues and lull. Truthfully, I probably have been experiencing that for a while already- it's no big deal, the more shows I have, the more comfortable and accepting of this phase of the process I have become.

Will I work on paper again? Re-stock my etsy shop? Start making works for the Underground Christmas sale? Cull more of my older color work for another super sale? I just don't know. I will try to take good care of myself, watch films, listen to music, take photographs, write, and know that all the while I am doing that, I am replenishing the well of inspiration. The next series will come forward organically over time and I will be ready when it does.

Thanks to all my dear friends near and far, my family, my teachers, my lovely patrons and supporters, and especially Stewart for his love and support. Sometimes I love you and other stories, was a challenging and exciting series for me and I am so glad I was able to share it with such lovely people.

In other news, my website had a complete redesign! Please visit my new site and share it with your friends. Click on the image below.

Until next week, keep fighting. The worlds needs your art.

A love letter to the Fayetteville Underground

2011-09-23T14:50:00.000-05:00

Having a studio outside my home had always been a goal of mine, an expensive dream that would most likely remain impossible. Having a studio meant that I could close the door on my daily life and go to work like the rest of the world. It would be a place dedicated to the making of art, a place where messy dreams come to life and where drips of paint on the floor and walls were welcomed. A place for patrons to check in and see works in progress and develop a relationship with me as an artist. This is what I had wanted for so long and this is what I got. In April 2009 I moved into a small studio at the Fayetteville Underground in downtown Fayetteville, Arkansas.

The Fayetteville Underground was just forming at the time, taking the basement of a mostly vacant bank building on the somewhat empty downtown square. It was a big experiment, an idea to have four galleries and fifteen working artist studios and a classroom. A dream to make Fayetteville an arts destination and help to boost the economy and desirability of the town.

When I initially signed my lease I thought of it also as a personal experiment. I was a little concerned that the other studio mates might be a distraction or that I would feel nervous working in a group environment. I would be giving up the windows of my attic studio and it also meant I would be changing my schedule and how I worked as an artist. I had been the type of painter that would roll out of bed at three in the morning to paint and I worried if working in this more formal environment with the more regular hours would hinder my creativity. It took a long time to get used to the sounds of the building, the manufactured air and the remnants of bankers and their offices. I'd also be lying if I didn't mention that it took time to get used to my fellow studio mates comings and goings, music and moods.

To top off the studio experience there were the four galleries to fill and regular hours to keep and the whole act of helping to create what has now become one of the premier arts organizations in the state of Arkansas. When I look back and remember how The Underground was when it started and how far it has come over the last two and a half years it is astonishing. Being a part of the Fayetteville Underground has been one of the greatest adventures and accomplishments of my life.

I have been able to work with some of the most amazing people and my studio mates have become my family. We celebrate together and we share our sorrows too. We talk about our big ideas as well as our tangents that quickly burn out. We have supported each other through the thick and the thin. Many of us had studios before the underground as well as gallery representation, but we didn't have this team of fellow artists behind us and we didn't know what we could achieve as a collective body. We have brought local, national and international artists and their exhibitions to Fayetteville. The underground artists consistently create and install quality exhibitions month after month.

I believe I have done some of my best work of my career during my time at the Fayetteville Underground. I think it has to do with the freedom and excitement that comes from working around other like minded artists. Our work improves as we are not working in a vacuum and have a built in audience that arrives each month during our First Thursday artist receptions. It is reassuring to know that someone will see our work, even if it is just a piece in progress in our studios. And that brings me back to First Thursday. I remember the first few and then suddenly the crowds! Suddenly it just took off and we were hosting 1000 people at the Underground a month! It was a thrill to feel the swell of people and to absorb their support and enthusiasm for the art we were providing them. Suddenly the empty square started filling up with new businesses and the empty bank building wasn't so empty anymore. We were starting to accomplish our goals as an organization and people were starting to take notice.

This did not happen over night and it was not easy, it took many meetings and much organization to create what the Fayetteville Underground has become. The Underground is about one thing and one thing only, and that is art. When rumors were flying about our lost lease we kept working, we kept doing what we do best, to bring the best in visual art to the city of Fayetteville. We kept having our studios open. our First Thursday receptions and we kept smiling (most of the time). We kept sharing our experiences of what the Fayetteville Underground has meant to us or what great show we were bringing next, or our next big body of work in progress.

My studio is my haven, my safe place in this world. Where I can float away into my art and bring forth new ideas to share with the public and my fellow artists. The family I have made there is special to me and we believe strongly in the value of what we do. This is our life and our livelihood. We will have to be out of our current building by January 15th and we have been a nervous wreck as a group ever since we found out this sad news, but we are a united group and we hope to find a new home for our studios and galleries.

Our lives have been deeply touched by all those whose talent, skill, and generosity has helped to create the Underground. I am not the same person or artist I was when I signed my lease in 2009 and I can't wait to see what this next incarnation of the Fayetteville Underground brings not only to the artists but to Fayetteville.

Viva la Underground!

In other news: My exhibition Sometimes I love you and other stories closes on October 1. So please go see it at the Vault Gallery at the Fayetteville Underground before it does. Gallery hours are W-F 12-7 and Saturday 10-5. I am grateful for the support this exhibition has received!

I am also having a special sale of the color paintings in my studio. All of these works are half price until September 30th! Learn more about that here. If you have any questions about my sale please email me at megancha@gmail.com.

The rewards of saying yes

2011-09-16T22:44:00.000-05:00

Home

Mixed Media on Canvas

Sold

Being an artist is a thrill, you just never know where this profession will take you. I have been incredibly lucky to have gracious patrons that have passed in and out of my life over the years and I always enjoy meeting new ones and learning their stories and interests. This week I went on a little adventure with some patrons and it was such a fun experience I thought I would share a little bit of it here.

Sharon and Gary are artists as well as patrons of mine and artist Stewart Bremner. Besides painting, Stewart is currently photographing a series of vintage and classic cars and our patrons have been following along vicariously with his project. Sharon kindly suggested we connect with Gary and his collection of cars.

So Stewart and I made arrangements and off we went! This past Wednesday was all about cars and spending time with lovely people talking about cars. We drove around the neighboring towns in NW Arkansas and the cars were as beautiful and impressive as were the people we encountered.

I just wanted to remind myself about the wonderful connections that come from being an artist. It is all apart of being connected to something bigger than yourself and saying yes to opportunities as they present themselves. Passion is contagious whether it is the passion for restoring old cars or creating art. Wednesday was a wonderful day that I won't soon forget, and all brought to me by art!

Thank you Sharon, Gary and Don for sharing your time, your cars, and your passion with us.

In other news, my exhibition Sometimes I love you and other stories is on display for the remainder of September at the Fayetteville Underground in the Vault Gallery. Gallery hours are W-F 12-7 and Sat 10-5. I am very proud of this body of work and overwhelmed at the response this work has received. If you have not already seen the show, please don't miss it.

For an in depth look at some of the story behind the show and some more about me, you might want to read this recent profile by Haley Ray, a journalism student of the University of Arkansas. You can read it here. I was really pleased that she contacted my mentor/professor Ron Graff from the University of Oregon for a quote in the piece.

Tomorrow, Saturday September 17th I will be participating in a meet the artists event at the Fayetteville Underground from 10-1pm with fellow studio mate Linda Sheets. We will be on hand to discuss our work in more detail and in a more intimate setting than a typical First Thursday. If you are local or regional I hope you can drop in and learn more about our exhibitions.

Also for the next two weeks only, I am having a special sale of the color paintings in my studio. All of these works are half price until September 30th! Learn more about that here. If you have any questions about my sale please email me at megancha@gmail.com.

As the world slides by

2011-09-09T06:00:00.003-05:00

Sometimes I love you and other stories is off to a very strong start! Two more pieces sold last Saturday and another on Monday. A total of seven paintings have found new homes in the first week of the show! I am beyond pleased and so grateful for everyone's support.

As I often do, I gave myself permission to take some time off and just absorb the body of work I have created. I let myself enjoy seeing it in the gallery and I just spend time with the work and simply being in my studio but without the pressure of having to create anything. I don't think about the next series or direction. Now is not the time for that.

Today I went for a long drive in the meandering country side, listening to music and I just let the world slide by.

Don't forget to do this. Take the time, refill the well and celebrate what you have accomplished. And as always keep fighting...

Sometimes I love you and other stories is in the Vault Gallery through the month of September at the Fayetteville Underground. Gallery hours are W-F 12-7 and Saturday 10-5. If those hours don't suit you, feel free to email me at megancha@gmail.com and I can open the gallery for you by appointment.

Sometimes I love you...

2011-09-02T18:44:00.014-05:00

Sometimes I love you and other stories from stewart bremner on Vimeo.

Sometimes I love you... a short film by Stewart Bremner.

Oh what a week! Last night, Sometimes I love you and other stories opened at the Vault Gallery in the Fayetteville Underground. It was a lovely night, the crowds were amazing and the show looked great. I am happy to report that the evening concluded with four sales as well!

my paintings on the vault gallery walls

I am very proud of this exhibition and of myself for taking some risks in order to create the work. The glowing white paintings came together perfectly and transformed the gallery. The patrons who came to view the show last night were very receptive and their comments validated what I had to hoped to accomplish with this show. These works are my story and are intimate but at the same time they communicate something all of us feel and can relate to. The responses and stories I heard from people were also intimate and this was very special and moving to me. I heard stories about long distance relationships and new love, as well as from an older man who had just lost his wife. The words in one particular painting echoed his longing for and thoughts of her. Overcome with emotion, he was barely able to speak as he pointed to the painting that reminded him of his lost love. I soon became unable to speak as well. That moment in the night is one that I will hold close and remember always, his response was a gift to me and somehow my art was a comfort to him.

Last night was also a lovely reminder of how special the Fayetteville Underground is and how vibrant Fayetteville's art scene has become. The conversations, the interactions and the sheer number of people that attend First Thursday at the Underground is astounding. I feel very fortunate to live and work where I do and very proud of what I have helped the Underground achieve. My work has grown and expanded so much in the time I have had my studio at the Underground and my scope and reach within the art community both locally and internationally has as well. I am fortunate and grateful.

If you missed the opening of my exhibition, it will be on display throughout the month of September and gallery hours are W-F 12-7 and Saturday 10-5. Click here to listen to an interview on our local NPR station about the exhibitions at the Underground this month. If you have any questions about these works or would like to contact me personally about them or arrange for a tour of the show please don't hesitate to email me at megancha@gmail.com.

my paintings on the vault gallery walls

Thanks to all my friends near and far, my family, my art supporters and patrons. Thanks to my family of artists at the Fayetteville Underground. Thanks to Rodney Wilhite for the loan of his wonderful typewriter.

Love and thanks to Stewart Bremner for doing the impossible.

Next week! Sometimes I love you and other stories

2011-08-26T16:57:00.020-05:00

Please consider this your personal invitation to my exhibition Sometimes I love you and other stories. I hope to see you on September 1 from 5-8pm in the Vault Gallery at the Fayetteville Underground. The twenty-one paintings are now complete. I am taking care of the final touches this week and signing and naming the works. I can't wait to see them all on the gallery walls and share them with you. It is always a thrill to see the works out of the cluttered working studio and into the spacious and well lit gallery.

Press Release:
Megan Chapman's latest series of paintings, Sometimes I love you and other stories, will be shown at the Fayetteville Underground during the month of September in the Vault Gallery. These monochromatic works are fused with words typed on paper torn from old books and give the viewer the sense of reading pages out of a diary or letters to a distant lover. Very minimal in nature, the work explores the artist's love of the graphite line, as it cuts through the brilliantly white-painted canvas.

The series reflects on the kind of love that catches one unexpectedly, the kind we always knew was somewhere on the planet yet was for others. At the same time that this love seems special or unique, it is also ordinary and known. It is both new and old and never simple or easy, yet somehow it fills the gaps within, making the core of the person it touches stronger.

Sometimes I love you and other stories represents the absence of fear and the challenges to our beliefs about ourselves and the world outside upon finding another soul that we can sometimes love.

Megan Chapman was born in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She received her B.F.A. in painting from the University of Oregon. She has shown her work over the past fifteen years in Arkansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Washington State, Washington D.C., Philadelphia PA, and recently in Liverpool, England. Megan's work has appeared in various publications and is held in numerous private collections both nationally and internationally.

4000 miles and an ocean

2011-08-19T11:09:00.009-05:00

The most complicated plan
Mixed Media on Canvas 12x12"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
$250

Things have been humming along in my studio in fits and starts. Yesterday was a particularly good day for painting as I finished some new works for my upcoming exhibition. I can't wait to get back to the studio today to finish up more of these latest paintings. My exhibition will be here before I know it. "Sometimes I love you and other stories," opens on September 1st from 5-8pm as part of the Fayetteville Underground's First Thursday artists' receptions. If you are local or regional or just happen to be passing through Fayetteville, I hope you will join me in the Vault Gallery. I would love to see you there.

This work might be different from what most would consider my style of painting. The addition of the typed words along with the paintings changes things. It is at once an aesthetic object to be enjoyed and viewed as a whole, as well as something that asks to be read and digested. Time is being asked of the viewer. One can't just give these works a cursory glance and move on as with traditional painting. If the words are not read, one may leave feeling cold, but if the viewer takes the time they will be rewarded. Across between poetry, love letters and slips of dreams on canvas, these minimalist paintings share my sense of longing for and separation from, someone I love. They also speak to the universal longing that we all feel at one time or another. The secret thoughts and wishful hopes, the romantic notions that float through our minds only to fade, are somehow caught on the canvas to remain a permanent reminder.

Within the exhibition there are also the other stories, the paintings that do not contain my words, yet still obviously tie into the series. Some of these pieces may have parts of books embedded within as well as the same color palette used throughout the show, mostly comprised of brilliant white, rusty orange, graphite and charcoal. Lines feature heavily in these works as well. My love of line has never been stronger than it is within this work. These lines reach out across the pure white, sometimes like vines, wires, sound waves, an electric current or even the ocean. Perhaps they are the threads that connect and sometimes break between people. These lines stretch and reach darkly across the white, searching.

There is a surface quality to this work that is a bit different from my previous work as well, it is a bit glossy and slick yet also waxy. I am really excited about this aspect, as many know I flirted with a waxy, foggy surface with my Secret Blocks, but this time I have found a new medium that does exactly what I have always wanted! It is very exciting to find and use a new tool in the studio.

I think you can tell I am pleased with how this body of work is shaping up and I could tell you more and analyze it further, but I really must get to the studio and get to work!!

Thank you always for your support and interest in my work. It helps so much to know you are out there and that you are keeping up with what is going on in the studio and beyond. I am very fortunate to have made so many friends and supportive collectors because of my art.

Until next week, keep fighting!
Remember the world needs your art.

She is beginning...

2011-08-12T04:34:00.008-05:00

I am pleased to share a selection of works from my latest series with you this week. Here are ten works from Sometimes I love you and other stories. There will be twenty-one works in total for the exhibition that will be held in the Vault Gallery at the Fayetteville Underground in September. That is only three weeks away! I am looking forward to completing the series and seeing it on the gallery walls and sharing it with the public. I have a lot of work to do in the coming weeks but it is getting exciting as I see the show come together. I will share more images with you here as it gets closer to the exhibition.

As always thanks for your support. I hope you enjoy this sneak peek. If you have any questions about these works please do not hesitate to contact me either in the comments below or email me directly at megancha@gmail.com.

Something like this
Mixed Media on Canvas 12x12"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
$250

As in a dream
Mixed Media on Canvas 12x12"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
$250

Silently and still
Mixed Media on Canvas 12x12"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
$250

If there is a way
Mixed Media on Canvas 12x12"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
$250

The closing of eyes
Mixed Media on Canvas 12x12"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
$250

The most complicated plan
Mixed Media on Canvas 12x12"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
$250

She is beginning
Mixed Media on Canvas 12x12"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
$250

And they were victorious
Mixed Media on Canvas 12x12"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
$250

Too far away
Mixed Media on Canvas 12x12"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
$250

This strange sense of containment
Mixed Media on Canvas 12x12"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
$250

A snap shot of my life

2011-08-05T12:55:00.007-05:00

like the blinding light from when you were born
mixed media on Arches paper
© 2011 Megan Chapman

When most people in my time zone go to sleep, I wake up. It is midnight. I sit in the glow of my computer drinking water with a tea bag, there is no way the tea has steeped. I am impatient and restless, my shoulders and chest tight. Anxiety is taking over my body in the night. There are too many things up in the air, too many little open ended doubts and fears stirring within me. I remember this feeling from the past and I wish it would go away. I haven't been breathing, I haven't been exercising, I haven't been active in my recent life. I have lost myself again momentarily and this creeping anxiety and cement filled body is my reminder.

I feel like I haven't been painting but know this is a lie. I make note of the evidence. Since my last show in November 2010, I have painted one large commission, twenty maps of the night, twenty nine flashcards, ten letters never sent, nine co-paintings with Stewart, one random white painting and have started fourteen (more now) paintings in progress for my upcoming show in September 2011. This list relaxes me some. I reassure myself that the paintings count even when not on canvas. I also note that I have sold the commission, twenty maps, twenty seven flashcards, and so far, six letters never sent, one co painting with Scottish artist Stewart Bremner as well as many older color and white series works in this time period as well.

I remind myself that I did a little writing, singing and a lot photography during this time. I took up running for a six week stretch and took some good walks too. Stewart visited for five weeks, and I drove to Tulsa to see Interpol and went to Eureka Springs, two car trips/adventures I have never done before, at least not in the way I did them this time.

I also remind myself that I have been going through a separation and divorce during this time, as well as the thrill of developing an exciting and complex relationship with Stewart who is more than 4,000 miles away. I have also been supporting myself solely from the sale of my art since September 2010 when I became separated, something I wasn't sure I would ever be able to do. It hasn't been easy but it has increased my confidence.

I have helped manage and run a non profit organization seeing it reach new heights and new struggles. It's latest struggle being that we have to be out of the building by January 15th. So we have to find a new home for four galleries and fifteen studios or severely downsize. Managing and creating the programing for the Fayetteville Underground has not been easy but it has been rewarding and one of the best achievements in my life to date. I have helped bring amazing art to my town, I have helped artists promote their work and have tried to be a mentor and supportive friend to many. I love my underground family.

I have remained in contact with friends near and far as well, and created new friendships. I have also seen my parents regularly, for monthly visits. I could have done all of this better I am sure. I have had some hard, sad times, as well as some depressive episodes. However, when I look at this list I know I am doing amazing things with my life. I know I am not letting my time on the planet go to waste. I am a thinking and feeling woman, passionate and kind, well rounded and engaged. I am exploring and growing everyday, becoming more of the person I want to be in fits and starts, imperfectly. I love, I worry, I create, and I am doing alright.

Thanks for being a part of the journey and for supporting me and my art. Until next week, keep fighting...

Graphite lines & yellowed paper: a love story

2011-07-29T18:09:00.010-05:00

a strange sense of containment
12x12" mixed media on canvas
© 2011 Megan Chapman

I've been busy in the studio this week and it has felt really good. I currently have sixteen new paintings under way for my upcoming exhibition, "Sometimes I love you and other stories." I have ten that are complete and some that are close. I have a lot more work to do and time feels like it is running out. I need to start thinking about my statement for this work and have the paintings documented for publicity purposes and my records.

I plan to work over the weekend and get a lot more done. I am very pleased with what is happening so far. These works are brilliantly white and clean, very spare and minimal. I have never been in love with pencil lines like I am in this moment. Then to top it off are the words, stray thoughts like poetry against the pages of discarded books, public letters to a distant lover embedded in the paint. To many this concept in my work will be brand new, to me it is a full circle moment. It was in the pages of discarded books that I found my voice in the B.F.A. program at the University of Oregon. Oh the stories I would spin! Some autobiographical and some completely fictitious. My scrawl across the pages, charcoal, pencil and white paint surrounding my words.

I am not returning to the past but perhaps I am righting my course. I have been working on that process for the last two years, starting in 2010 with the manual for living, the white series, maps of the night, the flashcards, and the letters never sent. These are all a part of one canon of work, perhaps my most intimate one.

I will always love rich layers of color, texture, space, and design based shapes. You can still find those works in my studio and in galleries but I will also love my monochromatic worlds that speak from my heart and that remind me of my story. I hope these new works will remind you of your story too.

Here is a scratchy outline of a possible statement...

Sometimes I love you and other stories...
September 2011
Vault Gallery
Fayetteville Underground

This series of paintings explores the kind of love that catches you unexpectedly. You always knew it was there somewhere on the planet but it was for other people. At the same time that this love sounds special or unique it is also ordinary and known. It is new and old at the same time. Never simple or easy it somehow fills the gaps within, making the core of the person it touches stronger. A rebuilding takes place after years of personal neglect.

Sometimes I love you and other stories represents the absence of fear and the challenges to our beliefs about ourselves, the world outside, and finding another soul that you can sometimes love. How do you paint a questioning love? How do you paint passion? The first moment you touch or the first argument? How do you paint the freedom and inspiration found in another?

I have no idea....but I can't wait to dive in and try.

and sometimes life gets in the way...

2011-07-22T20:50:00.004-05:00

like the blinding light from when you were born
© 2011 Megan Chapman

There has been a lot going lately. I mean a lot... let's just say it has been a stressful time and that would be putting it mildly. I am doing well and there are so many things I am excited and happy about that are going on, but in general things could be a little better.

I have an exhibition, "Sometimes I love you and other stories" that opens September 1st 2011. That is right around the corner! Am I ready for the exhibition? No...life got in the way. Will I be ready? Of course and I am looking forward to the next few intense weeks as I switch gears and sequester myself and dive into the work. I plan on spending some serious hours in the studio in the coming days.

Do I have more to say? Probably, but I can't say it right now. I am thankful for all my friends, family, all my art patrons and for all the love and support in my life. Thank you.

Until next week keep fighting...

ps. If you haven't checked out my etsy shop in a while please do, there might be a letter there for you.

Letters Never Sent...

2011-07-15T22:00:00.004-05:00

secret messages
Mixed Media Painting on 140lb. Arches Paper
9x6" with about an inch border on all sides.
© 2011 Megan Chapman
sold

keep reading
Mixed Media Painting on 140lb. Arches Paper
9x6" with about an inch border on all sides.
© 2011 Megan Chapman
sold

a witness
Mixed Media Painting on 140lb. Arches Paper
9x6" with about an inch border on all sides.
© 2011 Megan Chapman
sold

futile
Mixed Media Painting on 140lb. Arches Paper
9x6" with about an inch border on all sides.
© 2011 Megan Chapman
sold

blinding light
Mixed Media Painting on 140lb. Arches Paper
9x6" with about an inch border on all sides.
© 2011 Megan Chapman
$35

keep reminding me
Mixed Media Painting on 140lb. Arches Paper
9x6" with about an inch border on all sides.
© 2011 Megan Chapman
sold

quite as alive
Mixed Media Painting on 140lb. Arches Paper
9x6" with about an inch border on all sides.
© 2011 Megan Chapman
$35

through the distance
Mixed Media Painting on 140lb. Arches Paper
9x6" with about an inch border on all sides.
© 2011 Megan Chapman
$35

six hours
Mixed Media Painting on 140lb. Arches Paper
9x6" with about an inch border on all sides.
© 2011 Megan Chapman
$35

please remember
Mixed Media Painting on 140lb. Arches Paper
9x6" with about an inch border on all sides.
© 2011 Megan Chapman
sold

This is my latest series: "Letters never sent." These works pick up where the "Maps of the Night" left off and are a precursor to my next series "Sometimes I love you and other stories." They are available for $35 plus shipping on my etsy shop Art Maven. If you live in Fayetteville please email me and I can reserve your piece for payment and pickup through the Fayetteville Underground. Email me at megancha@gmail.com with any questions. Thanks for your support! Visit my Etsy shop here: http://www.etsy.com/people/artmaven

typed words, dreams and paper

2011-07-08T22:00:00.006-05:00

This week I started some more small works for my etsy shop. These pieces are a precursor to my series "sometimes I love you and other stories." I have two completed and three more currently on the go. I have incorporate small abstract paintings with typed text and I must say I am very excited! My goal is to create at least ten of these new works before I put them on etsy. I hope that will happen either this weekend or in the early part of next week.

In other news, there are only two flashcards left! I am thrilled that twenty seven of these small miniature works have found good homes so far. Perhaps you have been meaning to get yourself a flashcard before they are all gone! Visit my etsy shop to see what remains. I may also be adding some of my older smaller color paintings to etsy. It is time to let go of the past and make room for the new. Every dollar you spend in my shop or on my art keeps me on the path, funds my next series, and truly keeps me alive. I am honored when people spend their hard earned money on my work as I understand it is tough all over.

There has been a lot going on professionally and personally in my life lately and sometimes it is hard to keep my head above water. However, when I talk with a patron of the arts about my work and my dreams for the future everything seems possible. Thank you for your encouragement.

Next week things will kick into high gear with my new paper works on etsy and more progress being made on my latest series of works on canvas. You know I will keep you posted.

Until then, keep fighting.

Like painting under water...

2011-07-01T21:12:00.005-05:00

she's of two minds

This week was busy almost. Many days were spent in the studio and certain rushes of excitement were felt as small breakthroughs have been made in the series. The paintings, rather than forming one by one seem to be forming more as a whole. I currently have thirteen new paintings on the go for my series Sometimes I love you and other stories. THIRTEEN! Yeah, it totally caught me off guard as well. This has been some strange painting, minute movements, as the title of this post suggests, like painting under water. The words are there but the paintings are being slower and more coy and as I sit here this seems to make perfect sense. Coy on the surface perhaps or maybe a bit shy and reserved until you get to know them and then BAM! I think they will pack one hell of a lovely punch. I will keep you up to date and yes, of course there will be some sneak peeks along the way as well...

In other news, I must say again how pleased I am to have returned to Etsy. My flashcards have been selected for many lovely treasury lists, which are collections curated by other members. I am always honored when my work is chosen and fits in perfectly with all the other impressive selections. So please check out my Etsy shop Art Maven for affordable works on paper. There are only eight flashcards left and I do not plan on offering any more of this series.

And lastly here is the sound on repeat from studio...

PS. Keep fighting. The world needs YOU and your ART.

PPS. Artist Stewart Bremner is letting go of the past and you can pick up a painting for a song! If bold, graphic paintings with a pop art bent are your style then he has the paintings for you! Even with shipping from Scotland these paintings are a steal! Check them out. There are only twelve left! Go here to explore!

We will live this time...

2011-06-24T13:22:00.008-05:00

This week was filled with meetings, appointments, migraines, tracking down a typewriter and so much more. I did manage to work, paint, and research regardless of all the distractions. The week started off with a bang as I sold my final Map of the Night from my shop artmaven on Etsy. I can officially call the Maps of the Night series a sell out! I am so pleased about this, I loved that body of work and I hope those who have collected it will enjoy those works for many years to come. There are still eight remaining flashcards in my shop, so snap those up! I also decided to add the remaining secret blocks and have lowered the price on them slightly from when they were shown in galleries, so please check out artmaven for all my remaining small works!

Every purchase helps me stay on the path, helps me stay connected with artists near and far, and helps to encourage and support me. Thanks again to all my many patrons and supporters over the years. I am very fortunate to have your support and I'll never take it for granted. You allow me to to be an artist and that is the greatest gift you can give me; the freedom to stay focused on my art, my true calling on this planet.

In other news, I have begun incorporating type into my new works for my next series, Sometimes I love you and other stories. This is the reason for tracking down a typewriter, which was graciously loaned to me by a local writer. I am tempted to tell you about and show you the beginnings of this series but I feel like I should hold back at this time until it becomes more solid of a concept. I can tell you I am very excited and I have high hopes for this series.

Until next week, keep fighting.

And the serious work begins...

2011-06-17T00:00:00.004-05:00

work in progress in the studio

This week has been good, mostly spent painting in the studio, researching, writing and talking about my upcoming series. I have maintained regular hours in my studio and have six paintings on the go currently. They are in the infancy stages, but I am feeling better about all things since I have been spending regular time around my materials and working. It hasn't been easy, there has been a lot of pacing back and forth and flipping through my music to find just the "right" album to set the tone.

This body of work seems like it is going to be a stretch, a bit like pulling teeth with a heavy dose of trepidation but also unbridled excitement and inspiration. I cleaned my studio, took inventory and ordered the supplies I assumed I would need to complete this next body of work. My supplies have mostly arrived and I have a pretty good idea that there will be twenty new pieces in the series. All of this is subject to change as the work and concepts start to solidify. I say this mostly as an escape route for myself and from any expectations from viewers, but truly I hope I can pull of what I am setting out to do.

In other news, having my etsy shop re-opened has been really great. I have enjoyed finding my flash cards and my maps of the night featured in several really lovely treasuries. A treasury is when a fellow etsy seller functions as a curator and creates collections of work they admire. I have had a couple of sales as well. There are only ten flashcards and one map of the night left!

Until next week, you know what to do...

The moment between words...

2011-06-10T10:57:00.013-05:00

how I'll arrive
mixed media on paper 6x4"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
Sold

I was a bit absent from my studio this week and I am not sure why. I did manage to create several new flash cards at the beginning of the week and have now completed the series. I also decided to re-stock my, until recently dormant etsy shop ArtMaven. You can find all the remaining flashcards and maps of the night there for purchase with free shipping! It is a convenient way to buy art, as etsy not only uses paypal but also accepts major credit cards. I can ship to anywhere in the world. I hope folks will take advantage of my shop being active again. I always enjoy using etsy as an artist and as an art buyer. I was also thrilled to have my flash card "been and gone" featured in a sweet etsy treasury.

Here are the most recent flash cards for your enjoyment. You can also email me directly if you are interested in these works at megancha@gmail.com.

been and gone
mixed media on paper 6x4"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
Sold

listen to the silence
mixed media on paper 6x4"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
Sold

there is a reason
mixed media on paper 6x4"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
Sold

within the cracks
mixed media on paper 6x4"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
$25

pale remnants
mixed media on paper 6x4"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
Sold

the moment between words
mixed media on paper 6x4"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
$25

In other news, Stewart Bremner who I collaborated with on our series "A question of chemistry" has three of his latest paintings currently on display as part of an exhibition at UNION gallery in Edinburgh. These are impressive works on paper, exploding with color and emotion. Here is a link to the gallery's website so you can see Stewart's work. I wanted to share them with you not only because I think they are impressive and inspired works, but because I want people to see Stewart's voice and hand in his solo work. By viewing his paintings you can learn to recognize his voice in our collaborative work; as many folks that have seen our paintings in person may be more familiar with my voice than his. These three works of Stewart's are striking and powerful and the framing only sets them off further. You can read a little bit about his experience of the exhibition and see a fantastic photograph of the artist and one of his paintings on his blog. I miss working with him in the studio, but don't worry I am working on the ideas and concepts behind my next body of work and excited by the thoughts I am having. I hope to start working on the actual paintings soon!

Until next week, keep fighting.

No Question...

2011-06-03T07:57:00.007-05:00

After the storm
© 2011 Megan Chapman and Stewart Bremner
Mixed Media on Canvas, 40x30"
$1,350

This week in my studio has been about the speeding up and slowing down of time. Stewart has returned home to Scotland and our series remains a souvenir to time well spent. I have the luxury of spending quality time with the work now that it is complete, getting to know it and retracing the steps in the process. Stewart only has the photographs. I really wish he could see how the orange pops under the gallery lights. We hope these paintings will all find good homes, but until they do I will study them and remember the act of working with Stewart. We are thrilled to report that one of the paintings, Watching from afar sold last Saturday during our preview of the series. This first sale meant so much to us both. It is validation of our series and our fevered concentration and work. These paintings mean a lot to us and we love what we have created, but when others love it too and want to live with it, there is nothing like that feeling.

Last night was first Thursday at the Fayetteville Underground, so many more people were able to see the series in the Vault Gallery and in my studio. I had some lovely conversations about the work. Many people wanted to know how two artists could work together in such a way and many asked if I had worked this way before. People seemed genuinely impressed with the results and the story behind the work. I was so pleased and gave Stewart a full report this morning through the static of the internet.

This work taught me a lot about myself and life in general. There is something very vulnerable about painting with another; side by side, making messes and cleaning them up. Someone else gets to see every mistake and question before it forms to make something beautiful or intriguing on the canvas. Painting is usually a private process and many artists love this magical alone time and then suddenly there is this other person that must be considered. It was such a gift to have this experience and it is not a time I will soon forget.

Next week, I may start sharing some ideas about my next series of works for my solo exhibition in September. The proposed title of the exhibition: Sometimes I love you and other stories.

Until next week, keep fighting and take a chance. Life is beautiful.

We communicate through static...

2011-05-27T10:16:00.010-05:00

artists megan chapman and stewart bremner
© 2011 megan chapman

This week found myself and artist Stewart Bremner again mostly in the studio and this time fervidly working against the clock. Stewart returns home to Scotland on Tuesday, so we had to make this week in the studio count. We continued our series "A question of chemistry," deciding to paint a total of nine works. The collaboration proved a successful surprise producing works that are decidedly both his and mine, yet definitely a cohesive body of work. Orange sparks from the darkness of many of these pieces, both mine and Stewart's favorite color. Other colors such as olive green, blue, charcoal, and blinding white hold the elements within the paintings together and provide balance. You can feel the immediacy of the work, the pace and buzz of two artists working together when looking at these paintings.

This collaboration wasn't always easy, but it was a rewarding and valuable experience. To paint in the presence of another, is to let go or at least attempt to. This collaboration, was a fine balance between sharing the experience, controlling it, and taking it to a new level. I will miss painting with Stewart, but I also look forward to translating what I have learned from this experience into my future paintings.

In other news, come say hello and goodbye to Stewart this Saturday from 1-3pm at the Fayetteville Underground. As I mentioned above, Stewart goes home soon and would love to say goodbye to all the lovely people of Fayetteville and Northwest Arkansas as well as talk about his joint photographic exhibition iteration/span one last time.

There will also be a special preview of Stewart and my collaborative series of paintings "A question of chemistry" showing in my studio. This will be the only time the we will be together to show the entire series. We would love to see you there!

And without further ado here are our most recent works from our series. We hope you will enjoy them. There will be a couple more next week as well!

Watching from afar
© 2011 Megan Chapman and Stewart Bremner
Mixed Media on Canvas
16x20"
Sold

We communicate through static
© 2011 Megan Chapman and Stewart Bremner
Mixed Media on Canvas
30x24"
$800

One small spark

Beneath the silence

A question of chemistry

2011-05-20T00:00:00.003-05:00

I thought I would find you here
© 2011 Megan Chapman and Stewart Bremner
Mixed Media on Canvas
60x48"
$2,800

If you read my blog last week, you will know that I had just begun a collaborative painting with Scottish artist Stewart Bremner, who is visiting Fayetteville to promote his and Craig Munro's joint photography exhibition iteration/span currently on display at the Hive Gallery in the Fayetteville Underground. Our painting collaboration didn't exactly happen as we had hoped for, it started out more along the lines of a unnecessarily complicated dance that neither one of us knew the steps to. After our rocky start we talked about the process and the steps to take in the future and then smartly we walked away from the painting and the studio for a few days.

When we returned to the studio to view our work, we were happily surprised to find a painting that we could both be proud of, a painting that we could see each other in and yet something that was definitely a fusion of our two styles. We made a few more small changes and decided to call it done, photograph it and get it on the gallery wall as soon as possible! It was a wonderful rush, a thrill I have not exactly felt before. Once on the wall in the back Vault gallery of the Fayetteville Underground, we just sat in front of the work. We sat there simply absorbing the large painting. I was a bit speechless. To me, the large 5x4 foot work felt like a magnet, I was drawn to the stillness of all the white and to the complexity of all the layers and colors within the painting. It was a wonderful moment and one that I will not soon forget. We declared ourselves victorious and at that moment we knew we had more work within us that we had to create together.

This past week Stewart and I have completed three more works in our collaborative series, A question of chemistry. Here are those works. We are excited about the direction the series is taking and simply the act of painting together and being able to share our works with you. There are more works in the series planned. Stay tuned...

A strange currency
© 2011 Megan Chapman and Stewart Bremner
Mixed Media on Canvas
40x30"
$1,350

We took the quiet roads
© 2011 Megan Chapman and Stewart Bremner
Mixed Media on Canvas
30x40"
$1,350

A fearless humming across the wires
© 2011 Megan Chapman and Stewart Bremner
Mixed Media on Canvas
30x40"
$1,350

Getting to know you...

2011-05-13T15:32:00.007-05:00

painting collaboration in progress & the shoulder of artist, Stewart Bremner

This week was a bit scattered in the art department. I followed through with a few leads, sold a couple more flashcards and made a house call regarding the large commission. I also started a collaborative painting with visiting Scottish artist Stewart Bremner. He started the large canvas, worked on it for about ten to fifteen minutes listening to his music while I watched. I then plugged my ipod in and dove into the painting also for about ten to fifteen minutes with my music on as my usual guide.

Working with another artist is a complex process. I have done it before with English artist Steven Heaton on our delay before abandon piece, but it is a different process when the artist you are working with is actually in the room with you.

It is an interesting thing to watch an artist you admire as they choose their colors, their brushes and plan their next move. The color choices and strokes you recognize after studying their work, yet you also recognize the fact that this work it is not going to be your own but something shared and new, a strange hybrid. My internal dialog while watching Stewart paint runs amok..."Do I paint over that, do I leave it? What if I don't like raw umber...?" Let's just say there was a spirited debate during and after painting. There are lines and boundaries that get pushed and crossed when collaborating with other artists, even ones you are close to. We laid the frame work for something is about all I can say. Will this painting be something we will ever show? Is this just an exercise? Only time will tell.

I enjoyed the experience and I look forward to working back into the painting with Stewart and seeing how it evolves. We have set some basic guidelines and have agreed that both of us want more time with the painting and more consistent music selection. Alternating every ten minutes just never let me connect to the piece or go inside of the painting the way I am used to doing when I work. It is a telling experience, one that I look forward to exploring further this week. I will keep you posted!

Until then keep fighting...

More flashcards and more art!

2011-05-06T21:32:00.014-05:00

this is where I hide

mixed media on paper 6x4"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
sold

This was another busy week getting ready for First Thursday at the Fayetteville Underground. The week leading up to the openings is always exciting and this week was no exception. I am pleased to report First Thursday went off without a hitch and all the exhibitions were well received. It really was wonderful to have visiting Scottish artist Stewart Bremner present at his and Craig Munro's exhibition, iteration/span. I know he enjoyed talking with people about their work last night. Luckily for those local folks who might have missed First Thursday, Stewart will be giving an artist talk at the Fayetteville Underground tomorrow, Saturday May 7th from 11am-12noon.

In other news, I did manage to paint this week and I am grateful. I worked on some more flashcards. When time is tight and inspiration is low it is still better to paint than not, and it is even more of a victory. I am glad I was reminded of this. Perhaps, it was having Stewart working in my studio. He was busy painting while also preparing for iteration/span and I thought if he can paint during this chaotic time, then perhaps I can to! Here is a link to his recent paintings.

And here are the newest selections from my affordable flashcard series. The paper isn't perfect, there are some rough bits where the tape masked the borders. These works are about the process, the immediacy and the action of making. These are flashcards and the paintings are the answer. You provide the questions. For more information on how you can reserve and purchase one of these small works please email me at megancha@gmail.com and stay tuned, more flashcards to come...

the textures of you
mixed media on paper 6x4"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
sold

the hope that lives undercover
mixed media on paper 6x4"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
sold

patterns from the past
mixed media on paper 6x4"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
sold

If wishes were stitches
(I'd have you all sewn up)
mixed media on paper 6x4"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
sold

Assembly in darkness
mixed media on paper 6x4"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
sold

Until next week, keep fighting but don't forget to have fun too.

iteration/span & a reminder

2011-04-29T00:00:00.004-05:00

I will take you to far off places
Munro/Bremner © 2010/2011

Here we are again, and I am going to pretend that I wrote this on Friday but the hardcore readers will know the truth. Things got away from me this week as I have been hosting visiting U.K. artist Stewart Bremner who is preparing for his joint exhibition iteration/span with Craig Munro to be held in the Hive Gallery at the Fayetteville Underground during the month of May. It has been interesting watching Stewart prepare for this exhibition, reminding me of all the small details and expense that goes into a show.

If you are local or regional please come out to the Fayetteville Underground Thursday May 5th during first Thursday from 5-8pm and say hello to Stewart who has traveled a long way from Edinburgh, Scotland to share his and Craig's combined photographic images. Stewart will also be giving an artist talk on Saturday May 7th from 11- 12 about the process and inspiration behind the exhibition as well as answer your questions. It is always a rare treat when we get to hear directly from the artist so please be sure to attend so you can get the inside scoop. As always our exhibitions and art talks at the Fayetteville Underground are free and open to the public.

In other news, I have been enjoying being a tour guide and trying to stay dry during this excessively rainy spring we've been having lately. I would love to say I am bursting with new inspiration at the moment, but sadly I can not. I will just have to accept that I am in a bit of a lull at the moment and hope that the art will materialize again soon.

The following affordable and original works from the maps of the night and flashcard series are still available. If you are interested in one of these works on paper please email me at megancha@gmail.com to reserve your piece. I really appreciate everyone who supports me and my work by buying a flashcard or a painting. You keep me going and you make me work harder. Thank you.

the vines
mixed media on paper 6x4"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
$25

static
mixed media on paper 6x4"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
sold

solace
mixed media on paper 6x4"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
sold

quiet voices
mixed media on paper 6x4"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
sold

where two points meet
mixed media on paper 6x4"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
sold

a favorite place (when I close my eyes)
mixed media on paper 6x4"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
$25

it all points to an expertly crafted myth
mixed media on paper 24x 36"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
$100

She would remember for him, he would forget for her
mixed media on paper 24x 36"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
sold

As always, keep fighting for your art, your vision and your life. It is short and what you bring to this planet is unique and so valuable.

Oops! It's Friday !?!?

2011-04-22T17:49:00.009-05:00

What a busy week it was and Friday came upon me slowly and quickly at the same time. I was simply drawing a blank for my blog this week but I like to maintain my routine so I asked my friends over on facebook to submit questions for this week's post. Here are their questions and my answers.

Amy asked : Do you think there is a difference in the art communities in Fayetteville (where I live) vs. Springdale? (the neighboring town) If so, how and why?

Amy: I have a rather limited experience with the art community in Springdale, but I have participated in several exhibitions at the Art Center of the Ozarks in Springdale, including several 5x5 benefits, many Artists of Northwest Arkansas juried exhibitions, some group shows and had my own solo show there in 2004. Yes, I do think there is a difference in the art communities in the two towns. Some of the events at the Art Center of the Ozarks are well attended and some less so. It seems that even though Northwest Arkansas is a considered a metro area, that people don't seem to move out of their comfort zones that easily. Fayetteville people don't seem as likely to attend art openings in Springdale and vice versa. However, I think this is changing. I am sure that not having a University impacts the art scene in Springdale as well as the fact that they don't have as many art galleries. Remember though, that Fayetteville's art scene has always gone in waves and in fits and starts and it really wasn't until the last several years that we have developed a more cohesive art community.

Lorel asked: What's the most popular subject for an artist?

Lorel : This is a tough question. Self portraits have always been popular as have landscapes. But then again for an artist like me, neither of those apply since I work in the abstract. I think most art references the artist either directly or indirectly. I believe many times that the artist is trying to show you something that is either important to them personally, culturally or historically significant, or something of beauty.

Ginna asked: What's your favorite color?

Ginna: My favorite color is orange. Orange feels good to me, I love that deep burnt orange and rusty orange oxide is my favorite. I have used it in my work for years, even my kitchen is orange and you can see the titles on my blog are orange. It is happy pure color that has many layers. On the surface orange is simple, but there is so much more to this color. Second choice (not that you asked) is phtalo blue mixed with burnt umber a third choice would be Alizarin Crimson. I love black, grey, and white too!!! I love color. But orange is my top choice.

Robert asked: Music seems to be an important part of your studio life and art life. What do you think are the differences and similarities in music as an art and 2-D visual works as an art?

Robert: This is a fantastic question. You are right music is a huge part of my life in general and always has been. I think there are many similarities in music and art and I think that is why they go so well together and why I use one medium to inspire another in my studio. As in 2-D works I think music paints pictures and presents a space for the viewer/listener to wander in and out of. Good music and good art take you somewhere and change your mood or alter your experience of a space and your life. Art challenges, soothes, prods, and can inspire real change in the viewer. I think music does the same thing for the listener. Art can be a type of visual record of your life just as music can be a soundtrack. I think of the two almost as interchangeable.

As far as differences, I love the words in music- the lyrics. I love the ability that the words have to refine the atmosphere and take a person more quickly to where that artist intends for them to go. Sometimes with 2-D work you have much less control over the viewer and where they go within your work. However many artists use words in their works to achieve this. The adoration of musicians and artists is certainly different. Can you imagine unveiling your latest body of paintings to screaming fans? And going on tour with them? I wish folks could sing along with paintings. It would really change things. I think music has a more clear and easily accessible connection than the visual arts. Everyone knows what you do with music, but not everyone knows what you do with art.

Thanks again everyone for your questions. One of you will win a small art thing... and rather than make you wait for it, I will just announce it now! The random number generator picked lucky number 3! Ginna you win one of my latest flashcards. Go here and let me know which one you would like! Congrats.

As always keep fighting, the world needs your art.

PS. Go out and do something that scares you this week. Live a little and grow a lot. You can do it.

Just around the corner...

2011-04-15T10:58:00.013-05:00

a favorite place (when I close my eyes)
mixed media on paper 6x4"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
$25

Today is a day where anything seems possible. The sky is grey and the leaves are brilliant green. Flowers are blooming and bees are buzzing around. The air is cool and everything is a verdant paradise. Spring is here, no doubt about it. I love these days. It stormed in the night, bringing with it this cooler weather. It feels like something magical is about to happen just around the corner, the air feels charged and the music sounds even sweeter. I hope your Friday is treating you well.

Besides all this flowery talk of Spring, I managed to paint again this week! I am slowly but surely getting back on track. I told you I would have eight new miniature flashcard series pieces to share with you and I do! If you are interested in any of these pieces just email me at megancha@gmail.com to reserve your painting.

The "flashcard" series is a new selection of affordable miniature works on paper. The paper isn't perfect, there are some rough bits where the tape masked the borders. These works are about the process, the immediacy, the action of making. These are flashcards and the paintings are the answer. You provide the questions.

trajectory b
mixed media on paper 6x4"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
Sold

the vines
mixed media on paper 6x4"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
$25

static
mixed media on paper 6x4"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
$25

solace
mixed media on paper 6x4"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
$25

restructuring
mixed media on paper 6x4"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
Sold

quiet voices
mixed media on paper 6x4"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
$25

where two points meet
mixed media on paper 6x4"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
$25

In other news, I also have a new 16x20" painting to share with you as well! This is just a quick studio snap shot. I am very excited to have worked on canvas again, this is the first canvas painting I have worked on since my Falling into Sound exhibition in November 2010.

this is the part (where she wakes up)
mixed media on canvas 16x20"
$425
© 2011 Megan Chapman

I keep feeling like I am not painting enough, but when I look back I know that it is not true. Since January, I have painted twenty Maps of the night, and sold all but two of them. I have also painted these sixteen flashcard series paintings and have sold ten of them so far. I also painted the above 16x 20" work. Not to mention I completed the huge seven foot by five and a half foot painting commission as seen below.

Silence in the drifting
mixed media on canvas 7x5.5'
© 2011 Megan Chapman
commission/sold

All this was created while working and helping with the Fayetteville Underground, writing about art and beyond, maintaining my photography, and selling other works. I also happen to have a life outside of art (I do - I really do!!). I am writing this to remember. It is so important to remember, because it is so easy to forget and discredit. I would say that this has been a very productive three and a half months. Let's see what happens next!

As always keep fighting. The world needs your art.

Time moves swiftly...

2011-04-08T20:47:00.011-05:00

blue spark
mixed media on paper 6x4"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
Sold

the connection
mixed media on paper 6x4"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
Sold

I am happy to report that all the miniature flashcard series works that I posted last week on my blog have now sold! I made two more flashcards at the beginning of the week. I have posted them above for your enjoyment, one of them has sold already as well. I plan to create many more in this series. I like the miniature scale, the format of the work, and the spontaneity.

In other news, we had a wonderful first Thursday at the Fayetteville Underground last night. I sold two canvas paintings, Implosion and Behind the Whispers, from my last color series that I created at the end of 2009 before I switched over to the White Series. I know these paintings went to the perfect home as well, which is just such a wonderful feeling. I also sold another Map of the Night, as well as three of the miniature flashcards. It is always a thrill when my work finds a home in the world. The moment someone chooses my work for their home or office is such an amazing feeling, like nothing else I have ever experienced. I still jump up and down as giddy as a school girl with each sale, I hope I never lose this.

Again, it must be said that every purchase of my art no matter how small or great impacts me the same way, it helps me live and work as an artist. It keeps me on the path, it encourages me and gives me validation that I am on the right track. I am grateful to all of my patrons over the years, your numbers are adding up and you are spread all over the world. I hope you will continue to enjoy your paintings of mine for many years to come. Thank you all.

Next week more flash cards; at least eight new ones and that is a promise!

the light on the edge, where anything is possible
© 2011 Megan Chapman

P.S. I love making, marketing, and talking about art as much as the next person (no, I probably love it just a tiny bit more...) but don't forget to get outside, soak up the spring sun, smell the lilacs, listen to songs drifting from open windows, rest in the grass and live.

The Flashcard Series

2011-04-01T00:00:00.002-05:00

This is the beginning of the "flashcard" series. A new selection of affordable miniature works on paper. The paper isn't perfect, there are some rough bits where the tape masked the borders. These works are about the process, the immediacy and the action of making. These are flashcards and the paintings are the answer. You provide the questions.

currents over the ocean
mixed media on paper 6x4"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
Sold

the place you know
mixed media on paper 6x4"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
Sold

explosive and lovely
mixed media on paper 6x4"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
Sold

on the left, the darkness
mixed media on paper 6x4"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
Sold

electric lines in the distance

in the time it takes

For more information on how you can reserve and purchase one of these small works please email me at megancha@gmail.com and stay tuned, more flashcards to come...

Pretty vacant

2011-03-25T22:09:00.011-05:00

spring time in the dirt, sometimes it is hard to work

I am happy to report I have completed the massive 5.5x7ft commission I have been working on since January. I am just waiting for the painting to be delivered to the client. I might show it to you sometime. I am still waiting to begin the next batch of work, the next series. I have some tiny ideas, some grand ones and some false starts. We will see what happens.

I have been enjoying photography in the meantime and walking in the spring weather and listening to all the music lovely people give me. I have been talking a lot lately. I have been having wild dreams. All of this is tumbling around in my head and as soon as it reaches that critical point it will come out in the form of a painting or twenty. I have been productive just not in ways that are clearly seen or easily shared.

Here are a couple of links to photography things that I find inspiring.
Mugshots
Pinhole

Here is a song that I have been listening to a lot lately as well.

Oh and I sold three paintings this week. That was an exciting surprise. I was also rejected by a gallery. Oh well. That is how it goes. Life is basically good, actually life is magical and most things are possible in this world if you want them and can dream them.

Write your story and make it happen. I believe in you.

Here we go again...

2011-03-18T15:54:00.009-05:00

The weeks are flying by and here it is another Friday and another studio blog. Hm.. What have I been up to this week in the studio? I have been finishing up the commission. I have been thinking, and looking at my art. I have been organizing and promoting events for the underground studios where I work and I have been having meetings. Today I talked to some young children on a tour of our studios.

So, sadly there has not been too much time for paintings or for letting concepts jell for my future work. What have I been doing outside of the studio? I have been in the park early in the morning to watch the sun cast shadows across the fields, I have been walking through daffodils and smelling the Spring in the air. I have been waking up with the moon glow in my room. I have spent quality time with friends and family. I have talked about art and looked at art. I have taken photographs, I have thought things through.

Does this all translate into art eventually? Yes, it does. Will it soon? I don't know. Do I want it to? Um, yes... I am looking forward to painting again, but I can't force it. This is just one of those lulls I struggle through at times. Suddenly the veil will lift, I will remember and I will get caught up in a new series and run with it.

If you keep fighting, I will too. Until next week...

The things I thought I heard...

2011-03-11T13:32:00.013-06:00

I promised you new work and I really try to keep my promises, but I can't offer you a finished piece or even a work in progress. Perhaps you will accept a concept instead?

This week has been rough, with a lot of old ideas resurfacing about myself and how I fit (or don't) into this world. A lot of self doubt kept me preoccupied, corroding my confidence. Old habits and defense mechanisms were deployed to remedy these negative feelings with limited success.

Art has always helped bolster my confidence and has given me a place to belong when I felt that I didn't belong anywhere else. So, I thought perhaps it was indeed time to explore some of these feelings in my art. I don't often use my art in this manner. My usual goal is to create work that people, including myself can escape into rather than using my work to dwell on a certain emotion or issue. I say my usual goal, I do understand that my work is emotional in nature whether through use of colors, text, or titles. However, my work usually only hints at what I am trying to explore. My work is often dreamy and perhaps intentionally vague not only so that the audience can bring themselves into the work more easily but also as a protective mechanism for myself. I hold back from this more personal and clearly emotionally charged art because I fear this type of work is often heavy handed, juvenile, and perhaps even a bit selfish or self absorbed. At the same time, art is about expression and freedom and is a good place to challenge these perceptions.

The concept that came to me this week was in the form of a simple sentence, "The things I thought I heard that helped make me..." The idea being that people in our lives say things to us all the time but what we hear and internalize can be completely different than what was actually said, yet we take and carry this perception of their words with us forever. Also the element of self doubt is expressed in this statement with the word "thought." We can not be sure, did they say that and mean this? Did they mean this and say that? Did our emotions in the moment color an innocuous word and turn it into a poison that will now be our undoing? Imagine all these instances adding up over a life time, the things that children think they hear, but can't be sure of, changing them forever. This repeats throughout our life, the things we think we hear create us and make us who we are today. These half truths, these confused words give us our identities, our language, our issues and change the way we relate in the world and to each other.

So, these are the ideas that have dominated my art brain this week, I have begun exploring it with photography but I hope to move through the concept with paintings and drawings as well. We will see, I have no idea if this is just a passing concept that will burn out quickly or if it has room to grow and be explored into a new series. I will have to see how I feel once I get into it.

Until next week, keep fighting...

The best part...

2011-03-04T09:08:00.007-06:00

As many of my regular blog readers know, I am a member of The Fayetteville Underground, which is a group of four galleries and fifteen working artist's studios. The first Thursday of every month we debut our new exhibitions and have our studios open from 5-8pm. It is a wonderful night of art, community and fun. I love getting to interact with so many people coming into The Underground on this one night each month. I pretty much smile and talk the entire night. We have been having First Thursday since April of 2009, and I must say I feel so much more connected with the community at large because of it. I enjoy recognizing the regulars and becoming friends with many new people each month as well.

Every now and then, there is a conversation or an interaction at one of these events that really sticks with me and fills me with such hope and enthusiasm. My job as an artist is of course about making the art, but then it is about sharing the work with others and receiving feedback; it is about connecting and creating relationships. I am very fortunate to have met so many wonderful people because of my art.

Last night, I met a lovely couple who came into my studio. They are both artists and they were really taken with my work. The wife of the couple seemed almost giddy with excitement to be viewing my work and talking with me about it. I can still see her smile plainly in my mind. I told them about myself and my work and they told me about themselves as well. About how they had spent some time in Arizona where they discovered so much art that they found exciting and how thrilled they were to discover The Underground and especially my work. They seemed truly moved by the whole experience, almost as if the whole world had opened up for them in Arizona and it was continuing to expand as they looked at more and more art. They seemed to really understand my work on an intuitive level and very appreciative of having discovered it. I can't tell you how this feels exactly, but it is a beautiful moment, almost an out of body experience.
Their smiles and words of encouragement and understanding will stay with me forever.

These conversations we have with each other about art, they are so powerful. Sometimes they can be the reason the artist works the next day and continues on this uneasy path. Thank you to all the people who have supported me over the years with your words, connections and sharing. It is a wonderful gift you give me.

Next week, I will be sharing some new work and that is a promise!
Until then, keep fighting and remember every day we paint is a victory.

After The Maps: What's next...

2011-02-25T12:35:00.010-06:00

If you have been following my blog you know about the Maps of the Night. There are only three maps of the night left, and of course I am beyond thrilled with the response to my latest series. It was such an exciting and exhilarating project to work on. There is something about creating art quickly and moving through something personal in real time with the art that is an unparalleled experience. That is what the maps were for me.

For those that purchased a map or two thank you from the bottom of my heart, I hope they bring you all the enjoyment that they gave me while creating them. They have now all been shipped to their destinations or picked up locally. Please know that your purchase keeps me fed, housed, happy and able to make more art. It also inspires and encourages me, so please know that you are appreciated and never underestimate the value of supporting an artist.

I feel the maps are now complete. I set out to create twenty and I did. I was so pleased with the results. So now what? Well, on to the next series of course! Do I know what that series is? Not exactly, but it is showing itself to me in fits and starts- I am thinking it will continue on paper, still mostly a monochromatic palette and there may still be some words mixed in the paintings. I think the scale may change, either getting quite large or perhaps small. I don't have an exhibition booked until next September so I have plenty of time to play with it and explore and that is exactly what I intend to do. I am lucky to have this time. I am tempted to paint a few more white series/falling into sound type paintings on canvas too, but not quite yet. Paper is really calling me right now. I have always loved working on paper, it feels like home but at the same time it has such strong individual qualities, so different from canvas that it provides me a challenge that I enjoy. I will keep thinking about the next series and I will keep you posted on any developments in the studio.

In other news, I have been slowly re-reading the book Art & Fear: Observations On The Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking by David Bayles and Ted Orland with fellow artist and friend Stewart Bremner. It has been good to read these words and think about them with another artist. It has also been interesting for me to read them coming from a different perspective than the first time I read the book, when I was just starting to get serious about my art career. If you are a working artist or just starting out, I would recommend reading a book about being an artist every now and then. So many of the obstacles, fears, and even the exciting highs have been written about and explored so well already. It is reassuring to know that there are other people out there that have figured out parts of the puzzle to being an artist. We don't have to do this alone, and we don't have to reinvent the wheel. I would really recommend reading these sorts of books if you are an artist that feels isolated or lack support from family, friends, or the public. I don't read these sorts of books like I used to because really the key is just to work, but every now and then they are a tonic of sorts.

Well, that is all the news fit to print... I have to get to my studio and finish up a commission and think more about my next series. Until next week, you know what to do...

The last three remaining maps are pictured in today's blog post, please email me if you are interested in these works for your collection. megancha@gmail.com. Click on the images to see them larger.

Maps of the Night: The Final Six

2011-02-18T17:48:00.013-06:00

They have surrendered into this ocean

I am very excited to share the latest six works from my Maps of the Night series. These works are about me, my life and my current story but I hope you will find yourself within them as well. It has been an exciting time in the studio as I have worked on this twenty-piece series. The Maps of the Night were just the thing I needed to refuel after my Falling into Sound exhibition this past November that featured my white series paintings and the Manual for Living. The Maps of the Night are a continuation of the larger white series but at the same time a departure or expansion.

As I have mentioned before, these works are mixed media on paper and are 24x 36" with approximately a 1.5" border on all sides of the painting. The edges of the paintings are not kept pristine and one can see some of the process left behind in the inky stains and drips.

I believe in the power of original art and I am glad to offer these affordable, original works to collectors at just $100.00. If you are interested in a particular piece for your collection please email me at megancha@gmail.com with the name of the piece and I can send you a paypal invoice or information on how to make a payment or reserve the painting for pick up and payment through the Fayetteville Underground if you are local. I love shipping nationally and internationally, and these works can be safely shipped in a mailing tube to your location.

I have been happily overwhelmed by the response of collectors to this series, and there are currently only three remaining maps available for sale, with several of the works finding good homes in Canada, the U.K., as well as in the States.

Thank you again for your support and interest in the Maps of the Night. If you have any questions about these works, please don't hesitate to email and ask.

click on the paintings to see them larger

PS. This map from the original fourteen is still available as well.

Until next week...

We return to work

2011-02-11T10:37:00.011-06:00

We've had a major snow storm here, so my studio time has been cut short again this week although I managed to create four more Maps of the Night that I hope to share with you soon. I am a bit bothered by not being able to work in the studio as much as I would like, but I know that this is a time for ideas to germinate and new ones to surface. It is a time for remembering and examination.

I have spent this time looking at art, talking about art, and thinking about the way an artist's brain works. Thinking about why we do this and why we continue to create in the face of so many obstacles. Do we create for ourselves, for others, an imagined audience? Are we playing a part, the role of artist? What does it all mean and what is the point? These certainly aren't new concerns, and I think many have wrestled with all of these at some point and will continue to do so throughout their working lives.

Everything we do as artists is preparing us for the next thing. We are constantly in motion, trying, failing, reinventing and trying again and in that process we find our voices. This is not a neat and tidy process, and over a life time if we are lucky we'll find many voices, explore many themes and directions in our work. We just keep showing up, we just keep working, we just keep fighting.

When I look at an artist's works, I like to be reminded of the human behind the work, the brain behind the art, with all the stops, starts and awkward sputters in between. I like to see the variations in the themes that the artist explores over time. They might be known for one particular body of work, but there are hundreds of other paintings in the past that had to come before their voice solidified, before the work that put them on the map was created. These are the works that are lesser known, or perhaps the works that the artist never lets us see.

I guess I am writing this today because I know there are many artists that continually struggle with their work, their unsold paintings, their gallery rejections, and the dismissal of their work by family and friends. Sadly, this is part of the job description, simply a part of the process. You can let this crush your spirit and rob you and the world of your art or you can channel it into your work and rise above. I believe so strongly in the power of art and I know it is worth fighting for. There are countless bad and unsold paintings in my past, rejection slips, awkward comments by well meaning friends and the not so well meaning. I do not have impenetrable skin, it always hurts and it always derails me for a bit, and then I know I have a choice. My choice is to return to work. I hope that will always be your choice too, because the world needs your art.

Perhaps you'd like a soundtrack for your fight.

Maps of the Night: Three Remain

2011-02-04T07:27:00.018-06:00

the words in progress for the maps of the night series

The Maps of the Night went on sale online last Friday sight unseen. They were still drying on the floor of my studio but now only three remain. I am overwhelmed and thrilled with the response the maps of the night received.

The response was not something I was expecting, but it was something I was hoping for. I love these maps. What started as a way for me to break through a painting block, became something important and inspiring to me and to viewers and collectors as well. I am thankful for your support of my work, never underestimate your importance in my life. You encourage me with your comments and you help me stay on this path with your patronage. You put the tea in my cup in the morning, the music in my ears that fuels the paintings, you keep the heat on and allow me to keep working. Thank you.

I want to thank my friend, fellow artist and studio mate Jennifer Libby Fay for the paper that the maps were made on and I must thank my friend, fellow artist, and studio mate Don House for documenting the maps so expertly and quickly. Last by not least I want to thank my dear friend and fellow artist Stewart Bremner for talking with me about my ideas for this series of works, for listening to me, and for inspiring the series. Art is rarely made alone and I am very fortunate and grateful for all the support I have always had in my life for the art that I make.

There will be six more maps in the series, one is already in progress on my studio wall waiting for me. We have had a snow storm so the maps of the night are currently in a holding pattern but I can not wait to return to them. I will be shipping out all the current maps of the night next week to their new homes or making arrangements for their pickup at the Fayetteville Underground if you are local.

I will leave you with the three remaining, Maps of the Night. Please email me at megancha@gmail.com if you are interested in purchasing one of these available maps.

Click on the paintings to see them larger.

they jumped the gap and slept in the shadows
mixed media on paper 24x 36"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
Sold

it all points to an expertly crafted myth
mixed media on paper 24x 36"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
$100.00

If you want to see the first fourteen all together again go here.
Stay tuned for the next six.

Oh and this song is soon to be on repeat in my ears in the studio...

Maps of the Night: The First Fourteen

2011-01-28T00:00:00.017-06:00

Working for hours and late in the studio on the Maps of the Night

These are the Maps of the Night. There are currently fourteen but soon there will be twenty. These works will debut during First Thursday at the Fayetteville Underground on February 3rd in the back vault gallery and in my studio. You, as my blog readers get a special pre-sale treat, an advanced virtual showing and a chance to purchase/reserve these works a week early! Works will be sold on a first come first serve basis and all non local sales will go through paypal and include shipping and handling. Fayetteville residents can reserve pieces by emailing me and paying for them at the Fayetteville Underground on First Thursday Feb 3rd.

These pieces are mixed media on paper and are 24x 36" with approximately a 1.5" border on all sides of the painting. The edges of the paintings are not kept pristine and one can see some of the process left behind in the inky stains and drips.

I am very excited to share these works with you. I will always remember this series with a fevered passion that I hadn't felt in a while. These works are about me and my life and my current story, but I hope you will find yourself within them as well.

I believe in the power of original art and I am glad to offer these affordable but important, original works to collectors at just $100.00. If you are interested in a particular piece for your collection please email me at megancha@gmail.com with the name of the piece and I can send you a paypal invoice or information on how to make a payment or reserve the painting if you are local. I love shipping nationally and internationally, and these works can be safely shipped in a mailing tube to your location.

Thank you for your support and interest in the Maps of the Night. If you have any questions about any of these works, please don't hesitate to email and ask.

As always, keep fighting!
Megan
megancha@gmail.com
click on the paintings to see them larger

roots pushed down under their feet grounding them to this uncertainty
there would be no hiding this time
mixed media on paper 24x 36"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
Sold

they knew all along but for how long is any one's guess
mixed media on paper 24x 36"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
Sold

wire like lines broke above them in the sky, whipping around, they were unscathed
mixed media on paper 24x 36"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
Sold

a strange language grows like vines in the night
and I think I would rather learn your words than any others
mixed media on paper 24x 36"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
Sold

after pages and pages of infinite risk they had their brave moments
mixed media on paper 24x 36"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
Sold

she was good at hiding in the light, he would come alive in the dark secrecy
mixed media on paper 24x 36"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
Sold

The Maps of the Night were photographed by Don House.

Like vines in the night...

2011-01-21T14:48:00.017-06:00

This has been another exciting week in the studio, the maps of the night are starting to solidify in concept and execution. I am compelled to keep working on them as they gain their own momentum and pull me along for the ride. There are now eight complete maps of the night. I am still hoping to have ten to twenty of them created by the First Thursday in February.

I am really enjoying the quality of the paper and the size as well. The paper is 24x 36" with approximately a 1.5" border on all sides of the image. The edges of the image are not kept pristine and one can see some of the process left behind in the inky stains and drips. I like this quality of the maps as well, a sense of immediacy in execution and in the need to get them in front of viewers. The surface of these paintings have a drawn feel and has been fully considered, yet there is still plenty of room for the viewer to wander throughout the map. The words and stories within the maps are personal to me, but also convey universal themes that many can relate to. There are brush strokes left plainly visible below the surface, which is something that rarely happens in my work. I love how these strokes create ridges within the piece where at times the charcoal is allowed to darkly gather or perhaps a flash of blue, a faint tinge of orange or a vibrant green is left to linger, taking the piece away from the stark black and white. These pieces are still linked within the larger white series but are the start of a new direction.

I love the tactility of the paper- it begs to be touched and I invite viewers to handle the maps, not only to touch them but to also hear them. The paper crackles and lowly rumbles as it is moved about and picked up and read. As I stated last week, these works will be extremely affordable at only $100 a painting, and due to the nature of these works they can be affordably and safely rolled and shipped in a tube all over the country and the world.

I will leave you with one of my favorite lines from my latest map and some more of the recent sounds inspiring this body of work.

"A strange language grows like vines in the night, and I think I would rather learn your words than any others..."

Until next week, keep fighting and be sure to come back for a preview of my completed maps.

Imaginary maps of the night

2011-01-14T05:26:00.012-06:00

work in progress...

I've been painting a bit more regularly again and this is a relief. Wednesday I felt a bit lost and clueless when I started working in my studio. I knew I had a kernel of an idea, but I just could not seem to make it come to the surface. I had new paper and gesso and a new album to listen to and I wanted to work. I wanted to paint and create something badly. It had reached the point where the desire/need to create was really under my skin, just itching away. If you are an artist, you know the feeling, everything is just bubbling up and everything has this urgency and perhaps you might explode if you don't get it out. For me this happens right before inspiration strikes, weeks of inactivity create an intense pressure and if I don't release it, look out world!

I hatched a concept about a week ago, and as mentioned above I started out with some good, new paper. I had an idea for a series of larger works but as soon as I started painting, I knew that the paper was too small and too precious. This was not the paper for exploding, it was too regulated and proper. Luckily I explained my paper dilemma to my dear studio mate Jennifer L. Fay and she gave me a lovely stash of paper, some nice and some not so nice. I took the papers back to my studio, and quickly pulled the fancy stuff off my wall and replaced it with this newly gifted not so nice paper and suddenly, things started to happen!

I put the debut album by The Soft Moon on my headphones at full blast and I managed to disappear for a while, it was heaven.

Words started coming to my brain quickly- a complete flurry, as in the past I had to quickly scratch them down on the wall. Flashes of concepts, ideas for titles, poems, phrases, all just rising to the surface. When the words come, I know I am on the right track. I know I am listening to the right music, and I am using the right materials. It is a bit like being in a trance, tears will come to my eyes, my hands will shake, I bounce up and down on my toes, and I can't write the words down fast enough or get the paint on the paper as quickly as it demands. Things get knocked over, drips run down the wall, the floor is stained new colors and I throw rags and pencils across the room. In the studio there is a frenetic pace and energy, my brain is running at full tilt, as more words, more ideas flow, quick, quick, quick!

Stories like theatre, dreams, and thinly veiled memories explode to the surface. I think about how much I can say with out giving it all away; what to give and what to hold back. There is a type of pained freedom as I control this.

So, now that I have given you this hyper snap shot of my brain during the creative process, I imagine you are wondering just what the hell I am going on about...

I have decided these new works are an interim series. They are related to the manual for living, but due to the size and paper these pieces have more of a weathered map quality and feel more like a blueprints from a dream rather than any sort of manual. These pieces are comprised of white gesso, walnut oil mixed with charcoal, faint blue and orange washes over the cracked and textured surface. These documents tell a story, one that is loose and dreamy and very much open for interpretation. These papers may tell of a new reality, one that is in the process of becoming true. This papers may also point to a finely crafted myth, and there are no guarantees.

I have some creative ideas for displaying these works in the back vault gallery at The Fayetteville Underground, and my short term goal is to create ten to twenty of these maps/blueprints by February's First Thursday. I am also excited because these works will be affordable, probably priced around $100 for a fairly good sized piece of original art. I am guessing they are around 24x30" in size. (I will measure the paper today at the studio and update this later). I am excited about creating an original body of work that is more accessible to a larger audience.

I am eager to work in the studio today, to paint and tell more stories. These works are spacious and dark, filled with distance, guarded optimism, and longing. These are the imaginary maps of the night and the blueprints with no guarantees and I can't wait to share them with you...

She lives. She paints. She breathes...

2011-01-07T00:00:00.002-06:00

something big in the studio (we will talk about it later)

Happy New Year to all my lovely blog readers, lurkers, and others. I hope your year has begun in stellar fashion. I know mine has. I have been back in the studio this week and it has been wonderful! I am enjoying coming home with paint on my hands, it had definitely been too long. Again, I remind myself that not painting is not an option. Some might call it relaxation or taking a break to refuel or whatever, but it is not that way for me. Plain and simple, not painting is a form of self torture and there has been enough of that.

Besides working in the studio, I started the year by taking a chance and entering a juried competition, it will be a while before I know if I got in or not, but I am glad I entered. Each year I tell myself I will not enter this competition because I am always rejected, but I do it anyway. Hope springs eternal.

It has been great being back in the studio and reconnecting with my fellow studio mates, we all seem excited to get back to work after the holidays and for what is in store at The Fayetteville Underground for 2011. I am still so happy that I decided to get a studio outside of my home, it has its challenges, but its advantages far out weigh those.

So, what will 2011 hold in the studio? I am not sure. Will I continue the white series? Will I revert back to color? Will there be more manuals? Works on paper? At present your guess is as a good as mine. I am okay with that. I know inspiration will strike, and the work will emerge and it will inform itself and let me know the way it needs unfold. I think words might stick around and I think large works on paper are a good possibility. We will see. When it hits me, it will hit me with a bang and there will be no turning back. I just have to be patient and I just have to keep showing up and working.

I hope 2011 is a wonderful year for us all. Good luck and best wishes in all your endeavors. Keep fighting and keep coming back here, because soon... this place is going to teeming with fresh art.

Out of the darkness and into the fire...

2010-12-31T13:35:00.010-06:00

Well here we are on the last day of 2010....
Standing on the precipice or maybe just another day about to roll into the next.

Thanks to everyone who read or even skimmed my post last week. I am so glad to be able to share my world with you. So for this week I was thinking I should write up a plan for the new year and post it here. This would serve as place for me to keep my goals at the ready. A list of resolutions for my art in 2011.

Then I decided only a fool would do that! Most importantly for 2011, I want to work. I want to be paid for my work. I want to be appreciated for my work. I want to expand and explore new directions in my work. I want to be inspired by my work. I want to learn things about myself and the world. I want to shine a light on some dark corner whether for myself or for others. I want to make the unseen real and concrete.

I just want to work. Whether that involves painting, photography or writing. Where ever the muse takes me, I want to be there. I want to give myself over to it fully and then I want to share it with all of you. That is my plan for 2011. Nicely vague, somewhat hopeful, and a bit inspired.

Oh and I should probably add some stuff about setting boundaries and taking supreme care of myself. Yes, that sounds good now.

See you next year.
You know what to do...

2010: My year in review

2010-12-24T06:01:00.006-06:00

old roses and my painting when I close my eyes from the white series in my studio

Here we go, it is that time of year again where I cull my mind and past blog posts and remind myself what all happened in my art world over the past year. I think it is important to have a snap shot remembrance of what all was done before I trod of into the New Year. As I have said in the past I am always working and it is very easy to forget what all I have managed to do as I get caught up in the day to day.

I remember not having a plan for 2010. I started the year knowing I just wanted to focus on my work, whatever that meant.

In 2010, I curated and facilitated a number of exhibitions for the Fayetteville Underground. This was a challenging and exhilarating experience. The first of those exhibitions being Pedigree from Hot Springs, Arkansas. I loved that show so much. I remember spending a ton of time in the Revolver gallery the whole month of January just looking at Michael Shaeffer and Christopher Baber's work. I will always look back at that time fondly and with a sense of pride. I hope the artists will as well.

2010 also found me immersed in photography as well as painting, and I had the thrill of two of my photographs being used for the inside cover of Wade Ogle's CD, Lovers and Fighters. I am also excited to have had my photography used for the cover of Melanie McDonald's upcoming novel, Eromenos to be released in March 2011.

I had four pieces in a small and miniature works show that was held over until the end of January 2010 at the Aaron gallery in Washington D.C. The show was reviewed in a D.C. art blog, and I was thrilled when my work was mentioned in the write up. I recall how pleased I was that my work was sought after by the gallery and it was my first showing in Washington D.C.

In January of 2010 the white series was born as well. This will possibly prove to be one of the most exciting developments of 2010.

There were several public speaking gigs in 2010 either about my art, the Fayetteville Underground, the shows I curated, or marketing art in general. I gave a lecture to the Boston Mountain Potters Association, on ways to successfully market ones art. I also gave the talk Art Collecting 101: The Thrill of Original Art at the Revolver gallery. I also gave a 2 hour lecture/tour for students of The Osher Institute . The course was called Artful Spaces: A visit to the Fayetteville Underground. It was a large group of very receptive students, many of which just happened to be my teachers from elementary and junior high school. I remember feeling nervous about the role reversal and I remember how good I felt after I gave the tour. In July I gave an art talk about Institute du Loop's exhibition and in August I spoke about the photography of Christian Demare. In September I lead another lecture/tour for the students of the Osher Institute. In November I gave an informal lecture about my work to a group of university students studying with artist Cindy Wiseman. Speaking about art is something I really enjoy doing, and I hope I have many more opportunities to give these talks in the future.

I mailed off a small work on paper from my Etsy shop to Finland. I had never sent anything to Finland before, so that was a thrill. Thanks to my etsy shop ArtMaven, my work has been collected in Canada, England, The Netherlands, Australia, France, and Scotland as well as all across the United States. 2010 also saw less Etsy work created and sold, simply due to the fact that I was so busy with the white series and all the other work I was doing.

By the end of January, I previewed the first three paintings in the new white series on my blog and the feedback there and on facebook was off the charts- I am so happy I took that perceived risk (there is a lesson in this somewhere). By the second week of February I debuted the first eight pages of the ten page Manual for Living and started to solidify the concepts behind this book of stills. I remember being very inspired and working full tilt as I dove into the white series and didn't hold back. I completed The Manual by the third week of February and finish two more new white series paintings as well. This was a very exciting time for me as an artist.

By the end of February/beginning of March, I paint Sometimes, which for me, is a break through painting in the series. I remember being concerned that I could have pushed it further, but I held back and I am so glad I did. Sometimes, still receives many comments when it is viewed. I will always remember jumping up in down in front of my easel as it was completed as well as the initial feedback this painting received from my studio mates near and far.

By the first week in March there were seven paintings in the new white series and I was still jelling the ideas behind the Manual for Living. Going to the studio everyday was a thrill and I hadn't felt that inspired since art school. During all this time, there was much Underground work being done, as well as showing and selling of my colored paintings. There were a few times while working on the white series that I got temporarily sidetracked or had to take a break to refuel before I could continue. Part of the refueling, was a trip to Picher, Oklahoma to take photographs of this lead poisoned ghost town. It was an experience I will never forget.

In April, the Fayetteville Underground celebrated their one year anniversary and it was great to be able to step back and see what we had all accomplished as a group. By the beginning of April, I had completed ten new white series pieces. The second week of April was spectacular. That week I sold nine of my paintings to a brand new collector. I was so happy to work with this young collector as she bravely selected painting after painting for her collection. I was giddy with excitement and still can't believe it unfolded the way it did. I have been to her house to see the collection and they all look so beautifully hung in her home. I am grateful to her for her support. Her patronage changed the course of my year drastically and for the better in all ways. I will never forget this or her.

Also in April three of my photographs were accepted into a juried exhibition entitled Crafting Place: Interpretations of Natural and Constructed Environments from the Kitchen to the Forest. The Juror was Kenneth Trapp former curator-in charge of the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The exhibition was held in Bentonville, Arkansas at the Sugar gallery. The selected photographs were from the Picher, Oklahoma trip. I was very pleased to be able to share them. This marks one of the few times I had shown my photography in a gallery setting. All the while this is happening, I continue with the white series, steadily building the collection.

White Series debut, Back Vault Gallery, May 2010

In May, with encouragement, I decided to test out the waters with the New White series and I hang three pieces in the back Vault gallery at the underground. I was thrilled when two out of the three sold! At the same time the white series is featured in a couple of fellow artists' blogs and I keep selling my color series works as well. Several new paintings are born in the white series, the painting, Somehow we find ourselves on the same continent is a standout for me from this time period and in fact ends up on another continent, in late 2010. I am spending long hours in the studio at this point, sometimes up to ten hours just painting, I am happy. More paintings are being created I am finding my stride again.

By June there are fifteen paintings in the new white series. By mid June I sell another three of the new white series, to a wonderful pair of patrons. I remember the experience of staring at the works with the patron in the gallery. We both just got absorbed into the work for a while, just standing there in silence. I loved that moment. I also loved the experience of going to their home to deliver the work and seeing how well it fit into their space. I love this part of the art world, these connections.

institute du loop: a place to drown from Megan Chapman on Vimeo.

After this experience, I slow down a bit in the studio again, thinking about the upcoming exhibitions I planned to curate in the summer at the Underground. In July, I curated The Institute du Loop's A Place to Drown in the Hive Gallery. This was an enormous task. There were countless emails, chats, diagrams, photographs, writings, ideas, and questions sent back and forth from Taipei to Fayetteville and vice-versa in preparation for this exhibition. It was a very interesting experience to work with another artist in such a way. Clear evidence of how our world has changed, how much technology allows such amazing and inspiring things to happen. I received the exhibition via Fed Ex on two thumb drives with a Chinese stamp in order to sign the work. I also received the artist's composed soundtrack for the exhibition electronically as well. After a lot of hard work by myself and Henry Turner the exhibition was printed and installed and looked wonderful. We were all pleased, and the institute du loop seemed very thrilled. I will always be proud of the work we did together on this.

Even though I was exhausted and busy taking care of the institute du loop's exhibition, I am inspired and complete three more paintings in the new white series bringing the total to eighteen. By the middle of July I also return my focus to the Manual for living, putting into words the concepts behind the works. This was a thrilling experience. Thanks to artists' Stewart Bremner, Jennifer Libby Fay and to my brother, writer Sean Chapman for helping me to edit the words for the statement for the Manual for Living.

a manual for living: a ten page guide from Megan Chapman on Vimeo.

At this time I was also able to regain focus and pour myself into a new large painting in the white series, Things fall away (as we go under). I can remember the soundtrack to this painting vividly and walking to my studio smiling. This was a happy time.

Christian Demare in the Hive Gallery August 2010

In August, I curated another exhibition at the Fayetteville Underground, this time the work was by French photographer, Christian Demare. The exhibition is titled Ghosts in the Landscape #2 and contains forty-six images all in the square format. I have long be an admirer of Christian's dark and dreamy worlds and I am thrilled to be able to present his work to my local community. Again, I am thankful that the Internet makes this global arts community possible.

By mid August, I was the lucky recipient of two large 36x48" canvases from a lovely patron, and then later she brought me an even larger canvas! I found the size an inspiring challenge and produced one of my most favorite paintings called Upon Waking, which got snapped up by a lovely patron in Washington D.C. before it ever left my studio. The other 36x48" painting I create gets traded for a masterpiece by artist Matthew Lyman. Thanks all around.

Also in August, I got word that a collaborative paper painting that my dear friend and fellow artist Steven Heaton and I have been working on, "Delay before Abandon" is going to be in the Chaosmos 2010 exhibition as part of the Liverpool Independents Biennial, in Liverpool England. I have been friends with Steven for over four years now, and we were both very pleased to be in an exhibition together. I was very excited about this opportunity, as I have my work in many private international collections, but had never been a part of an exhibition overseas. This is a highlight of my career.

Also in August a big sale comes through for me. A two panel (diptych) 40x60" painting called Stamina and Refrain from the 2007 Evidence of the Disappearance series finds a good home. By late August another painting is created in the white series, as I prepare to host photographer and friend Thomas Petillo for his solo exhibition, North, West, East, South. September comes on strong, with some major life transitions. Thomas' brilliant exhibition debuted in the Hive and I was so happy that I got to spend some time with him while he was here for the opening of the exhibition, again I am so fortunate to be a part of this art community that stretches around the country and the world. I have the best friends.

This same month I was interviewed about my responsibilities at the Fayetteville Underground by Christopher Spencer at Ozarks Unbound and it is nice to be recognized for what all I am doing at the Underground. I also received the most lovely letter, left on my studio desk after that first Thursday from a high school student. I remember reading it and tears welled up in my eyes, I was so moved. During this time, I was also finding a bit of press online for the work in the Liverpool independents biennial. I was very excited by all of this.

I managed to break away for a day for a quick trip to Kansas City to the see The Pixies. It was an amazing show, and I come back inspired. Reminding myself again the importance of stopping every once and a while to experience art and different places, that these things are so important to my creative brain. I continually struggle with balance and music is often the answer. By the end of September, I work on one last painting before my exhibition. This begins the cycle I currently in, where I have not been painting.

In October, I kept working on the last painting, while Julie Wait Designs sold five paintings from my colored paintings to a new corporate client, a regional bank. One white series painting travels to Seattle to be a part of the Underground's group show, 13 Underground at the Shift gallery. I also start preparing for my exhibition Falling into Sound to be held in November. I update my website and have business cards and postcards created and devise a way to display the Manual for Living that makes the works on paper presentable but doesn't detract from the art. By mid October the final painting is complete, and I decide it is too different to include in the exhibition, and it is the painting I end up trading with artist, Matthew Lyman- which turned out to be a perfect solution.

Falling into Sound: Hive Gallery from Megan Chapman on Vimeo.

Falling into Sound debuted in November, and I was truly overwhelmed by the way the work looked together in the gallery. Tears came to my eyes often when I talked about the work to my studio mates and at times I still can't believe that I painted the work. It was such a unique experience and what I consider my finest work to date. I will always remember 2010 as the year of the white series and the manual for living. I learned a lot about myself, opened up and was richly rewarded for doing so. The emotional response I received from this body of work was unmatched and will always be treasured. By the exhibition date there were twenty one official white series paintings completed and eleven of those paintings are now sold.

Also in November, I was interviewed about the monthly offerings at the Fayetteville Underground on our National Public Radio station, KUAF. This is now scheduled to be a regular monthly segment. I really enjoy being able to give a voice to The Underground and spread the word about all the exciting exhibitions we have planned.

In November, I also start mentoring a young art student as he builds his portfolio, this is the same art student who so thoughtfully left me the note in my studio in September. We have only met a few times, but his work has already exploded and this has been a thrill for me to watch and I am happy to help.

As the year closes, two of the white series paintings are in Philadelphia in the first annual Snow Flake Invitational exhibition at 110 Church gallery and at Art @t Bridge Club of Center City in Philadelphia. I am very pleased to have been asked to participate. Always a thrill to have my work reach a new audience.

I have also just been asked to do a large 5.5x 7ft commission, and I have a feeling this where my mind will be for the beginning of the new year. I really look forward to sinking my teeth into such a large painting. I also concluded the year with five more sales from my colored series from the Art for the Holidays exhibition at the Fayetteville Underground. I am extremely grateful for the patronage and support. One last, but not least highlight of my year was delivering a painting to a Doctor's office for their Christmas party. The Doctor's thoughtful staff had chipped in to get him a painting of mine and I was there to surprise and present the painting to him. I will never forget this moment- I had such a smile on my face, and I think he was very happy with his gift.

Besides all this, there were additional group exhibitions, meetings, special events, studio mates to enjoy, music to listen to, tons of art to see and new frontiers in living. I wrote several little short stories and took a photograph everyday. 2010 was an amazingly busy year, and I can look back with pride for what I accomplished in my art career, at the Fayetteville Underground, and in my life.

So, how was your year? Did you start a new body of work? Did you get into a show you weren't expecting to? Did you come up with a new concept that you are just beginning to explore and expand upon? I hope you had a great year!

I hope you know that you are a part of all of this, my friends, my family, my patrons, my underground family, and all the artists that I have had the pleasure of working with. None of this happens without you. You are central to my success as an artist. I do not create this work alone. I require support, validation, and understanding and you all do a wonderful job of giving it to me and this enables me to keep fighting and pushing forward to create new works. Thank you. I am inspired by so much in this world and I am so happy to share it with you. Thanks for a fantastic 2010! May 2011 be just as bright or even brighter for all of us.

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

My studio in a pristine state... goal: keep it messy in 2011

so far away yet so close...

2010-12-17T06:57:00.011-06:00

Here we are again...because it is Friday!

I can't wait until things really get cooking again in the studio, it will make this blog writing so much easier and more fun. I am waiting to start a large commission, and as soon as I get the canvas my world will be taken up with the exciting challenge of painting a 5.5x 7 foot painting. I really can't wait to get started and work on such a grand scale. That process will be documented here to some degree. In another week or so I plan to look back and do a year end review of 2010. It has been an amazing year for me personally and professionally. I think perhaps one of my best. I look forward to examining it and sharing it with you all. I have a lot of things going on currently and as you know I am frustrated I am not painting regularly at this time, but I know this is just a phase and I will rise above it soon enough. Who knows what my art brain has in store for us all.

Now, just in case the locals of Northwest Arkansas don't know where to find my work (and the work of many talented others) for your holiday gift giving or just for yourself.... We now go to a public service announcement courtesy of KUAF our NPR station.

In Hot Springs, Arkansas you can find my paintings at the Blue Moon Gallery, and some of them are specially priced for the season as well. Click on the image below for more information.

You can also find two pieces of mine at the first annual Snow Flake Invitational exhibition at 110 Church gallery and at Art @t Bridge Club of Center City in Philadelphia. I am very pleased to have been asked to participate, and have two paintings from the white series currently on display, one at each gallery. This is a cash and carry show, and 100% of the sale price of the work goes to the artists. To learn more click on the image below.

I hope you enjoy browsing the links, and if you are in Northwest Arkansas, Hot Springs, or the Philadelphia area, please check out my work in person.

Next week, the year in review...

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For your listening pleasure : Please check out this video directed by my friend and fellow artist Thomas Petillo. This is a song off Hammock's newest E.P. The Longest Year.

Hammock - Longest Year from Hammock Music on Vimeo.

I really wish...

2010-12-10T12:03:00.013-06:00

I really wish I could tell you a story about art, maybe even some type of fiction. I would like you to feel what I feel when I paint. How it feels when the brush hits the canvas. How the music, the weather, my dreams, my stories all wrap upon themselves and slide into the lines. I would like to expand on all the words written on my studio wall and allow them tell the whole story.

There is a grey sky outside my window as I am caught in this vortex of thought and feeling, perhaps willing something to come forth. How I am trying to feel something and how I am trying to get you to feel something as the words, music and art all collapse on themselves. I am a blank slate, tabula rasa.

I am at the edge of something but don't worry I will take you along for the ride. Things are about to get interesting.

I can feel it under my skin...

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Random thoughts: (if the above wasn't random enough)

The way Maya Deren talks about time and space in this video, is something I can very much relate to and her work has inspired me. I have never attempted to emulate her, but I think if I may be so bold sometimes my work (especially my photography) comes from the same place as she is describing, yet I would never describe it in her terms. The music in the video is beautiful as well.

Please support local artists this season, you can find my work at the following places.

Thank you & Keep fighting...

December: Original art at your fingertips...

2010-12-03T08:53:00.018-06:00

my studio will get back to this state... (next month)

Yesterday was first Thursday at the Fayetteville Underground, and it was another mad crush of art lovers. I am very pleased that three pieces of mine sold so far during our art for the holidays group exhibition. You can learn more about the exhibition by clicking on the image below. The show will be up all month and there are deals to be had!

Underground gallery hours are W-F 12-7 and Saturday 10-5. Some of my older works are marked down just for this month- so go grab them!

Tonight is first Friday Gallery walk in Hot Springs Arkansas from 5-9pm. You can find my paintings at the Blue Moon Gallery, and some of them are specially priced for the season as well. Click on the image below for more information.

Tonight from 5-8pm is also the first Friday Preview for the first annual Snow Flake Invitational exhibition at 110 Church gallery in Philadelphia. I am very pleased to have been asked to participate, and have two paintings from the white series currently on display. This is also a cash and carry show, and 100% of the sale price of the work goes to the artists. To learn more click on the image below.

I hope you enjoy browsing the links, and if you are in Northwest Arkansas, Hot Springs, or the Philadelphia area, please check out my work in person.

I am still not painting but I have been working with a high school student on building his art portfolio. So far we've only met twice, but it is very exciting to watch his work change and grow so quickly and dramatically. I really enjoy this process and am happy to give some of my time away in this manner. I've been reading some books, listening to tons of music of course, writing some and taking photographs. So, I am always doing something creative while waiting for the next series to evolve and come forward. It was last January when A Manual for Living exploded out of me and the new white series came soon after. So, I have a feeling I am on schedule.

Thank you always for dropping by and reading my blog and for supporting me in my work. I appreciate this more than you know.

As always, keep fighting!