Our family tree made of charcoal dust. Interview out now!

Accidental portrait #16
mixed media
20x16" on heavyweight 250gsm linen textured paper. 

The original has sold. 
Prints of this piece are available in my Ko-fi shop: https://ko-fi.com/s/c157f20e2f

Last week I wrote in my studio blog that an interview was imminent, well it was published on Monday night! 

READ

I am very fortunate to have been interviewed by Peter Goodbody for P3DRO, a wonderful music and culture site based in England. A simple interview of 13 questions turned into something much more far-reaching and personal than I expected. I have to say this is one of my most favourite interviews to date. I really enjoyed knowing that it was going to be published on a mostly music-driven site, as music is so important to me and my process. I felt like I could communicate more effusively about the music connection to my art and be more completely myself- it was a more holistic interview. It all came together so well, it felt like a gift. 

I spent Monday night sharing it across social media accounts trying to reach the near and far. If you missed it or haven't read it yet, please do. This one is special to me and it would mean a lot. 

Read it here: https://p3dro.net/2021/03/01/megan-chapman-this-is-our-family-tree-made-of-charcoal-dust/

Thank you, Peter, for your brilliant questions and for this wonderful opportunity. 

Accidental portrait #17
mixed media
20x16" on heavyweight 250gsm linen textured paper. 

The original has sold. 
Prints of this piece are available in my Ko-fi shop: https://ko-fi.com/s/4704f6c20c

In other news, I have updated my ko-fi shop with new descriptions for many of my affordable works on paper. I'm trying to give you more of an experience as you view these works online as if you were talking to me at an open studio event. I hope you will take another look if you haven't visited in a while.

Gutless sketch #5/ Tell me how you really feel print #3
A3 size/11.7x16.5”
200 gsm heavyweight acid-free cartridge paper
2020
Both the original and prints are available in my Ko-fi shop. 
Print: https://ko-fi.com/s/63af21620b

Original: https://ko-fi.com/s/e2aea2ff51

Tomorrow is my birthday. It is the last one in my 40s and it is during lockdown. I am looking forward to taking a walk and speaking with friends and family near and far on the computer. I have a fresh bouquet of daffodils about to bloom in the house and my window boxes are exploding in the same fresh yellow. The Forth wildly crashes on the wee beach across the road. My cat, Theo sits by me looking out the window and I have plenty of tea. I am so very fortunate. 

Okay 49, I am looking at you squarely. I set an intention to live in compassionate simplicity along with forward movement peppered in joy. This sounds good to me.

Thank you for being part of all of this.

Frustration Evident

Frustration evident

I am just back from a sunshine-filled 4-mile walk. I'm trying to stay in the frame of mind I was in while I was outside. Rather than listen to music on my walk or birdsong, I chose to listen to Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen's "Renegades podcast." I am not a Spotify user but I thought they were important enough to put the app on my phone at least temporarily. It was a good choice. I walked for the duration of the 2 available podcasts, as they spoke and shared their upbringings and their thoughts and experiences of race and racism as well as the complicated and complex beauty of America.

It was wonderful to listen to their conversation weave in and out of a variety of topics with mutual admiration, respect, and the joy of discovery. It was a beautiful thing to listen to these two men talk in this way. It reminded me a lot of the conversations I have with my friends - touching on so many topics, associations, and memories eventually finding a common ground or a new understanding of each other and ourselves in the process. People are filled with wisdom. Conversations are long winding paths, perfect to walk to in the spring sunshine. I feel like I walked everywhere. I swallowed back tears at times as I listened to their words. Open communication is such a deep precious gift. I highly recommend the podcast if you haven't listened to it yet. 

As far as my art practice goes, I am feeling quite stuck just now. I did some sketches of noses on a bit of scrap paper, and I painted some thick grey/black lines over some paper works that I had started at the end of last year that need finishing. It's frustrating but I know it will come back when it is time for it to come back. I have to be patient but I also have to acknowledge the frustration. I also need to make some money. It's a drag when that part yells louder than the creative motivation. Sales of my work have been pretty slow so far this year. Thankfully I am receiving payments on a couple of larger paintings I sold in December and I have sold 4 smaller works on paper since January. I am thankful that the studio is allowing us to pay 1/2 of our usual rent just now as well. One day I am going to have to figure out what to do about that space. 

There is an exciting thing coming down the line soon - I am being interviewed for P3DRO, a music and art website. I am answering the interview questions just now. I will keep you posted when the interview becomes available. 

In other news, plans and preparations for the first exhibition of the Abstractionistas, the collective of which I am a member, are underway. The show is scheduled for July at St. Margaret's House Gallery in Edinburgh. Please follow us on Instagram. 

I hope you are staying well and safe and getting out in the sun when you can. I hope there are rich conversations around you and if there are not, I hope you can find some.

Thanks for stopping by.

Take care, 

Megan 

Here are all the links you need to find my work and the galleries that represent me.

Wonder, reverence, and a deep desire

I believe in art. I believe in artists. I know how hard we all work. I also believe in providing selections of my work that are more attainable and affordable for a wide variety of patrons. Nothing about this work or my process is cheap or casual but it is done with wonder, reverence, and a deep desire for you to live with things that add to your environment, create feeling, mystery or solace. From one human hand to another. Thank you for being a part of it.

This selection of original small works on paper are all £45 with free shipping in the U.K. Visit my Kofi shop. The mounts fit any standard 8x10" frame.

COLLECT

COLLECT

COLLECT

COLLECT

COLLECT

COLLECT

COLLECT

COLLECT

I hope you are warm, safe, and well. Thanks for stopping by. 

- Megan

Just the right kind of shakeup

Winter Variation Four

Another Friday night and here we are. I hope you are doing well. We've had snow in the past week and that has added a nice clear light and brightness, providing just the right kind of shakeup. I am delighted to report that three of my latest small works that I shared last week have sold. You can see all of them again here.

In other recent news, I am a proud member of a new collective of women abstract artists in Scotland. We are called the Abstractionistas. We are starting to introduce ourselves and promote our collective. If you are on Instagram please give us a follow.

Please follow @abstractionistas

We debate, challenge, make, and curate abstract art and host our own exhibitions.

My peers in the collective are: 
@estherdonaldsonart
@adelaideshalhope
@judithshaylor
@susan_e_wilson

Please follow us as a collective and as individuals and stay tuned as we focus on advancing abstract art in Scotland and beyond. Our first exhibition is scheduled for July. 

In the home studio, I am working (very slowly) on a new series of works on paper that combines my interest in medieval genealogy and abstraction. It's too new to talk about in detail yet but I just wanted to mention it. There are five pieces so far. You have seen them here already in my recent blog posts, I wrote something to the effect of "this is personal" and it is. Go back and take a look, here, here and here.

That's all I have for you this week. I have been walking, running, dreaming, and waiting and learning so much and as ever I am grateful for your support. 

Take good care- the world needs you and your vision.

The Winter Variations : New Small Works

Winter Variation One

Winter Variation Two
Sold

Winter Variation Three

Winter Variation Four

Winter Variation Five

Winter Variation Six

Winter Variation Seven
Sold

Winter Variation Eight
Sold

We are in the dead of winter. 

Hibernation. The rain, the wind, the sea, and shades of grey surround. 

A quiet time to listen, sleep, watch, breathe, and repeat. 

The winter variations. 

These original mixed media paintings are on heavyweight hot-pressed Fabriano Artistico paper. The mount window is 5x7" and these are ready to pop into an 8x10" frame. £45 with free shipping in the UK. I will be adding these to my ko-fi shop soon and sharing them on social media. 

I hope you are well. 

Thanks for everything, 

Megan

The dark psychic void

I am sitting across the room looking at a painting I started. It's a bit too literal for my liking just now. I am in danger of overworking yet another piece but that is okay. Today I triumphed anyway. I painted. Yesterday I taped the paper to the wall and that was my other triumph of the week. Just take the step. Put the paper in place. Get the palette together. Make a mark. Repeat. Take a risk. Repeat. Listen to the music, let it take you to that place. The dark psychic void. Listen carefully to the paint, the mark, the paper. Don't force it. Leave this world and wade into the deep, they are waiting for you.

Each time you do this, there is a reward and a remembrance.

The pendulum swings back

The sun was out today so I got outside to let it fill my face. I am solar powered now. I've caught up on my blog so if you have missed the last few, here they are for you again. 

Friday, January 15, 2021
Open the flood gates

Friday, January 8, 2021
Obviously not me

Friday, January 1, 2021
The practice of being human

Friday, December 25, 2020
2020. Year in review.

The painting above is the last new piece in the current series. Right now I am sharing studio snapshots- I will take better photos soon. You can see my limited palette is in full effect. I am working on some beautiful paper, Fabriano Artistico hot pressed heavyweight watercolour paper with deckled edges. I found a pile of it leftover from an old project. It's a good size (56x76cm).

I have been working on another piece but I strangely overworked it and had to give it a shower. Now, I think the paper might be too distressed from the experience. Time will tell. I share this because this is part of the process. The alchemy isn't always available and that's okay. 

The presidential inauguration this week was magnificent and gave me a lot of hope. The pendulum swings back again. We now know what we almost lost. There is a life lesson here.

Never give up. Keep fighting. THE PENDULUM SWINGS BACK!

More work and news soon. Thanks for your support and enthusiasm for my work. 

Take care out there.

Megan