I need to find my guts (again)

Consumption

mixed media on canvas, 60 x 70 cm

©2023 Megan Chapman

Fortress building
mixed media on canvas, 60 x 92 cm
©2023 Megan Chapman

I feel like a combination of these two paintings from 2023. I need to find my guts. I need to get my arse back in the deep end.

Thank you, Brian for seeing, believing, and championing my work. Your kindness after our art paths crossed soon after I moved to Scotland will never be forgotten.

Rest in power.

Exhibition News!

Under the surface
mixed media on canvas, 10x10cm
2026 © Megan Chapman

Hello Dear Readers,

I hope you enjoyed last week's post featuring a new wee painting and poem. If you've been following my work long enough, you'll know that titles are very important to me. Naming my work is an equal part of my process. The poem was a way for me to illustrate how titles serve as keys to let the viewer in to the work.

Last week's small painting and poem (and the work shown above) were all inspired by being invited by fellow artist and dear friend Steven Heaton to participate in Saul Hay Gallery's 10th anniversary exhibition next month in Manchester. 

50 artists from Saul Hay’s past and present have been challenged to create a piece measuring just 10x10cm. In turn each artist has invited a new artist, one who has never shown at Saul Hay before, to join the show. 

10 x 10 Exhibition

Saul Hay Gallery

​Saturday 13th June - Sunday 28th June 2026 ​​​

Tuesday to Saturday 10 - 5.30 and Sunday 10 - 5

Closed Sunday 21st

Railway Cottage, behind Bass Warehouse, off Castle Street,
Castlefield, Manchester M3 4LZ

Email: info@saulhayfineart.co.uk

You can view the 10x10 works online and more will continue to be added.

Disappear Here
Mixed Media on Canvas, 10x10cm
2026 © Megan Chapman
Sold

California Schemin'

In the time it takes
Acrylic on canvas, 46 x 32"
© 2020 Megan Chapman 

Today I had an amazing experience. I got to see one of my paintings on the big screen for the first time! I booked tickets for the first showing on opening day of James McAvoy's acclaimed directorial debut, California Schemin'.

I think I might have exclaimed "Holyyyyyyyyy Shiiiiiiiiiiiiit!" under my breath to my pal in the darkened cinema. Or maybe it was "Oh My God!!!" when the camera panned and my painting was right in the centre of the scene above the fireplace. This is the penthouse...

Screen grab from California Schemin' Promo
© StudioCanalUK © California Schemin

There it was, just for a few seconds, but a definite presence. My large abstract painting with its bold strokes of pink and black cutting across the canvas - the trappings of success: our Scottish heroes of the film, Silibil N' Brains, had made it big. I was so engrossed in the film that the sight of my painting caught me by surprise even though I'd spotted it in a promo clip on Instagram earlier in the week.

Something I painted is now in a major motion picture by a famous Scottish actor and now director, filmed in Scotland about two talented Scottish rappers from Dundee who adopt American accents to finally get their big break.

What this moment means to me is hard to put into words. As an American artist (now an American Scot) who uprooted my life to come to Scotland with so many unknowns before me, I am extremely proud to have my work be part of this film. I love everything about it.

If you are in the U.K. this weekend, go see California Schemin'! It's a captivating and wild story of talent and fierce determination, and a proud moment for Scottish cinema.

My brushes are clean

I gave my brushes a good bath (the pictures above are after the bath). I did some technical things relating to my art career. I went out and saw some good art around town. I said no to an opportunity. Another opportunity ended and another showed up. I listened to music and I talked to good people. I worked and I sang and I took a risk.

It's the start of August. 

Already. 

And my brushes are clean.

We might could

Falling to earth

A certain detatched sadness

Your tender heart

That's right

 Seems to be a theme.

Order of operations

 

Hello to the strong winds that brought me here

 

Paper: Shape Shifting Across Time

Memory Serves,
mixed media on paper
29.7 x 42 cm (11.69 x 16.54 in)
£125 

Headphones on. One song on repeat. Here I am baby. In the new year. 

Dancing in. Walking in. Meditating in. Here I am. 

Singing to all the old songs loudly. 

Doing it all a bit differently. You'll see. I'll see. 

I'll feel it. I hope you will too.

Thanks to everyone who read the 2023 in-review blog last week. Thanks for your lovely feedback on the socials and via messages. You are very kind and encouraging and I am lucky to be in a community with you. Happy New Year. 

This month, I am focussing on my work on paper. Even more specifically, I am going to focus on 8 works on paper. 

I am clearing the decks but for these pieces. You can see them all on my artwork archive site, as they are all ready to walk out the door and into their new lives with you this month. Like little fledglings or paper planes from my heart to yours. Flying around the corner or around the world. Colour, power, line, shape-shifting across time.

To be better understood and given their due. You can go look at them all together right now or you can stay tuned and on Instagram and Facebook, they will be revealed daily. 

Thank you to those of you who see me and truly understand. 

A sequence of webs #2
mixed media on paper
29.7 x 42 cm (11.69 x 16.54 in)
Sold

Upcoming Abstractionistas Exhibition: Paper

Exhibition news: 

"Paper" is an exhibition by the Scottish women's art collective, the Abstractionistas, featuring works by artists, Megan Chapman: Abstract Painter, Judith Shaylor Art, and Susan Elizabeth Wilson.

The Pop-Up show is open to the public from 11-4 pm on the 12th, 13th and 14th of August at the Granton:hub, Madelvic House, Granton Park Avenue, Edinburgh, EH5 1HS. The artists will have a public reception on Saturday the 13th from 2-4 pm. Join us! 

Until next week, I hope you are well, happy, and inspired. 

Calling up the warriors...

The Man Who Fell to Earth. Starring David Bowie. 1976.
Meme from the internet. 

I woke up at 4 a.m. with ideas that needed writing down. I had big plans for this blog too, but then other things kept getting in the way. So here I am at the end of the day, finally sitting down to write and I know I won't share everything I am thinking. My thoughts are coming too fast and some of the things I think are no one's business but my own. 

Last week, I was calling forth creativity and the unborn art at our fingertips. Tonight, I am calling forth my warriors and you don't need to know exactly what that means. I alluded to the idea on last week's Tuesday Studio Video Visit. I am sitting in the middle of great change or desire to change as many of us are since the pandemic began - this requires new ways of thinking but more importantly doing. 

I want to do this differently. I want to think about this differently. This meaning, art, specifically my art. I know I have said this before in different guises but I mean it. Time is of the essence. I have to change my thinking about all of this. The way I think about it no longer serves me or anyone else. 

So, I will need to call forth my warriors and lists will be made, and I will remember opportunities that went before and connections forged over years and years, and the new ones here in Scotland as well. I will be vulnerable to some degree and I will be scared and I won't know what I am doing and it will be hard. I think that is how art and a life of growth might have to be. 

I have given myself so much grief over this calling. I have limited myself, my experience, and my art because I have been ashamed that this is my path. I am ashamed that this path leaves me vulnerable to living on a shaky foundation. I often feel like an alien in this world. A high functioning alien that needs a lot of time to just look out the window and notice all the beauty.

I don't want what you want. I don't want to live how you want to live. I don't need what you need. I don't value you what you value. I don't strive for what you strive for. I am not motivated by what you are motivated by. I am my own person and I have the right to live this way even when it is often misunderstood, judged, and questioned. 

you = societal values at large/the capitalist machine. 

I think you and I, dear reader, have a lot in common and share many values. The warriors (and thankfully there are many) who read my posts, follow me on social media, support me, and have collected my art over the decades can thankfully see, read, or hear something in the work that resonates. I am forever grateful. You will be hearing from me soon... 

Until next week, keep fighting. 

With love and gratitude, 

Megan

Detail of the first drawing of the year 2022

 

And if you missed the latest Tuesday Studio Video Visit, here it is. Notice the better lighting! That's thanks to you warriors. ❤

Thanks and more...

WANTED: 

ART COLLECTOR (Click to shop)

Perhaps you can imagine one or all three of these pieces adding that extra something to your home or office or the home or office of someone you know. They are professionally framed in white and are sure to please. Each painting is £325 and can be found in my Ko-Fi Shop. Think of my Ko-Fi shop like some of you used to think of my Etsy shop back in the day. Easy to use and safe - a platform that helps artists make a living from their work. It's a win-win! I will donate 10% of the sale from these paintings to Bicycles for Refugees until the start of January.

Thank you to everyone who supported my show and sale last weekend online. I was able to donate £50 - and while I wish it could have been more, this amount helps a New Scots child get a bike! With some leftover for another child to almost get a bike as well - or enough for one adult. 

Any way you slice it, it's a good thing and we made some progress for a good cause together. Thank you! 

Research, mentoring, and a publication!

Hello Dear Readers, 

This week got away from me a bit and I am not sure how, but it did. Oh, I remember now... I fell down a rabbit hole of Hans Holbein the younger's works along with a deep genealogy dive. Look at his lines... Swoon-worthy. 

James Butler, later 9th Earl of Ormond and 2nd Earl of Ossory (c.1496-1546),
c. 1537, Hans Holbein the Younger

In other news, I had some technical issues with my phone so I couldn't film the Tuesday Studio Video Visit, so I will pick up with those next week. Thanks for your patience. 

Excitedly talking about art 

In other, other news, I have enjoyed a bit of artist mentoring again lately and am reminded how much I love that work. If you are interested in working with me please book an appointment through my ko-fi shop. Currently, one hour of mentoring costs £20.

I offer one-to-one email or video mentoring for artists who are at a crossroads with their work or for those who have been away from their art for a while and want to return to it. We can examine your past work, creative habits, and blocks - working together to push through obstacles in a supportive, encouraging, and yet challenging way.

Thanks to all the artists past and present that have used my mentoring service over the years, thank you for trusting me with your thoughts, feelings, and of course your work. It's always an honour. 

Click here to book an appointment: https://ko-fi.com/s/d7d95833e0

One pigeon wing to tether a ghost's heart 

And last but certainly not least, I am delighted to share that I have had a drawing published in issue #3 of 'Less' a journal on degrowth, radical sufficiency and decolonisation in Scotland, produced by Enough! Scotland. The drawing above can be seen next to 'Unlearning empire ~ re-membering earth' by Vishwam Heckert

Vishwam explores how we move beyond empire and imperialism, abstraction and disconnection: “...if we wish to transform our world, we cannot do so without unlearning the embodied and psychic habit of separating ‘us’ and ‘them’ or ‘me’ from the ‘world’.

Pick up a copy at any of the COP26 civic hubs in Glasgow:

– Govan Free State at the GalGael Trust

– COP26 Coalition – Adelaide Place
– Centre for Contemporary Arts CCA Glasgow

– The Centre for Human Ecology’s Clydeside Sessions at the Pearce Institute
– The Tramway

Copies will be distributed to hubs across Scotland shortly – watch this space!

I hope you will pick up a copy and give Enough a follow on Twitter.

That's all I have for you this week. I hope you are well, happy, and inspired (to raise a little hell). Until next week, keep fighting.

You with me?

Good lord, what have I done... 

I invested in some caffeinated tea, took a few classes on Coursera, and now I am getting organised.

I'm making marketing plans, learning how to utilise reels on Instagram, and making animated short videos. I have gone through mountains of video content from as far back as 2006 and have put it all on YouTube. The Tuesday Studio Video Visits are coming back, baby. You with me? Please subscribe to my channel (I need 100 subscribers to get my own unique URL for the channel. 

I have been promoting this all across my socials...

Subscribe
Don't worry, I will never use the whistling track again.
This has been a labour of love. 
Some of the videos are of better quality than others depending on how I had to get them from one place and add them to another. 
You can always put them on and listen to them in the background like a podcast. I talk about why I paint the way I do, what materials I use, the latest series or inspirations, as well as the exhibitions and galleries I am in. I also talk about the world and what is going on and always try to add a little bit of humour, kindness, and joy to my videos. 
I have always wanted to create art related content that is honest and true. There is nothing too flashy about what I do - you know this. I comment on the bad light, some of my videos are hopelessly dark, I laugh at myself and try to carry you along with me. I believe that art is meant for us all. I want you to enjoy it and feel included. If you come up to me at an exhibition, you know I am a warm open book when it comes to art. I will try to inspire you.  I take this path seriously, but it doesn't have to always feel that way. Let's have some fun! Thank you for coming along. - Megan 

Final Weekend: Advancing the Abstract

This is the final weekend to view 'Advancing the Abstract' in Gallery 2 on the third floor of Edinburgh Palette

Open from 12-5pm this Saturday and Sunday. Enjoy this video visit and come see us!

Featuring work by:

Esther Donaldson

Megan Chapman

Judith Shaylor

Susan Elizabeth Wilson

Don’t miss it!

#Artunlocks #abstractionistas #Edinburgh #Scotland

'Advancing the Abstract' opens today!

The Abstractionistas exhibition, 'Advancing the Abstract' is on today from 12-5pm at the Edinburgh Palette in Gallery 2 on the third floor. Buzz reception at the London Road entrance or enter through the car park. The opening reception is tomorrow from 2-6pm. We would love to see you there! Tickets: https://bit.ly/exhibitiontickets I may update this post later with more photos! Please do come along if you are near Edinburgh and are able. Thank you for your support.

The sun was glorious

Collect

Hello, dear art lovers and readers of the Friday Studio Blog! I hope you are all doing well. 

I am thankful for you and for the print orders that have been coming in more steadily for the past three weeks. Your orders are really keeping me going just now. I now offer twenty-one different prints in my shop ranging from £15, £25, and £40 and with free UK shipping too! They make great gifts for your friends, family, and especially for yourself!

I am getting ready to be busy as next month I will be participating and helping to organise two different exhibitions in Edinburgh (and in the real world!?). One will be at the Granton Hub and one will be at Edinburgh Palette, St. Margaret's house, both in July. Next week I will give you all the details. 

My feelings have been a bit all over the place as the summer approaches and the news of the world continues to overwhelm with both hopeful and still shite news. I am walking daily and spending time appreciating flowers, my cat, and the lovely people in my life. I am still keeping things mostly quiet and am in no rush to return to normalcy whatever that is. 

I tidied up my home studio area. I had a great art talk with a fellow painter, I worked on preparation for both exhibitions, signed and titled prints, and took them to the post office. It was a pretty good week.

The wind is blowing through the open window, there are potatoes baking in the oven for dinner. The sun was glorious this morning. I will be posting out more prints next week too. I'll end as I began with gratitude for your support. 

Don't forget, I place my orders with my fabulous printer every Monday morning at 9am. So if you are looking to get a print from my shop, get your orders in by Sunday night for quickest turn around time each week. You are supporting two women-owned small idependent art businesses with every purchase and that is a good and helpful thing. Thank you - Megan 

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