Leith must be the place

From the window of Custom House Leith

Hello Dear Readers, 

I hope December finds you well and cosy. This post practically wrote itself last Saturday. When I left you last week, I mentioned I was going to meet Julia to explore the Leith Creative Trail and that is what we did. 

Julia and I met in front of the Leith Library at 11am and we wandered the streets all day in search of everything the artists and makers of Leith had on offer. It was a full day of adventure, beauty, and community. Leith is definitely the place. 

We visited the following fantastic Leith venues:

Art Glass Studio 34 / SilverHub Studios / Mote 102 / Ground Floor EHFM / Coburg House / Cyan Clayworks / Custom House / Brown’s of Leith / Away Industries / Populus Cafe / Bethany Shop / Leith Makers Open Studios & MULCH:Collective Exhibition / Sebs Urban Jungle Winter Makers Market The excitement continues this weekend so do check the trail guide for all the details.

Happiness is a blue wall

While we were out walking the Creative Trail, Julia spied this blue wall and thought it would make an ideal backdrop. I was proudly wearing my new brooch designed by Julia and happy to pose for a few photographs.

I am lucky to have a friend that I feel so comfortable around and who has a great sense of colour. I really don't like having my picture taken so it says a lot about the photographer when I look this relaxed. Her brooch made me feel like a million bucks. I do hope you will check them out. As I have said many times, colour is medicine and good friends are the best. Find your new brooch and view Julia's art here: https://julialaingstudio.com

I need to get ready to meet a pal for a Friday morning walk. There are other things going on behind the scenes of course, but more on that later. 

Wherever you are, don't let the bastards get you down. Keep fighting and shining. 
We need you and the gifts you bring. X.

Feel good and do good: Charity paintings

This series of original paintings are A4 sized - 21X29.7cm/8.3x11.7” mixed media on 280gsm/80oz primed canvas board. They are signed and dated on the back. Each piece is £135 with free shipping in the UK and with £10 additional postage to anywhere else in the world. 

£55 from the sale of each piece will be donated to the brilliant charity Bikes for Refugees Scotland and will put a bike in the hands of a New Scot.

It's a win-win when you purchase one of these original paintings. You are supporting me as an artist and you are supporting our New Scots refugees. Feel good and do good. Collect art. 

You can buy these charity pieces directly from my Ko-fi shop. Just click the collect link under each piece to be directed to my shop. Thank you. 

Collect

Collect

Collect

Collect

Collect

Collect

Collect

Definition of success

Studio photo by Eve Smith

My definition of success:

Be able to stay free enough in mind, body, and soul to make the work. 

Have a space to make the work in which you can be free in mind, body, and soul so that you don't think about the wall, the floor, the carpet, the extension of your arm, and the paint that drips from that self-expression. 

Have a space to share this work with others.

Have some sort of roof over your head, some sort of clothes on your back, some sort of food in your belly, maintain this basic standard of living. 

Have some sort of family, friends, community, or group of peers that understand you and that speaks a shared language. 

Have love in your life, feel seen, understood, and supported. See, understand, and support others. 

Have a tabby cat.

Laugh, dance, listen to music, be in nature, feel alive, and find beautiful places to walk and explore.

Enjoy and support all forms of culture.

Share all of this with others.

Trusting Yourself Enough To Buy Art

The winner of last week's small paper painting give away is the talented author Suzi Parker! Congratulations Suzi! Please contact me so I can mail the painting (shown above) to you. Thanks again to everyone for the wonderful comments! It is so nice to have readers, I remember when I had very few, and rarely any comments. Knowing that you are out there reading this means a great deal to me, and is very encouraging. Thank you all. Please tell your friends about my blog and about my paintings!

Today, I want to switch gears. Last night, I was visiting with a friend who is not an artist, so I took the opportunity to pick his brain about growing up with or without art, buying or not buying art; and what art can bring to a person's life, as well as the misconceptions that hang over the art world.

I asked my friend if he had grown up with art (original or prints) around his house. It turned out he had not; on the walls were mostly family photographs. However, he did remember a few limited edition prints by a well known regional artist that were in his house. He also remembered that his family had actually persuaded other members of his extended family into buying the same regional artist's prints as well. I then asked him if he had art around his current home. Not surprisingly, he did not, but he did have that same regional artist's prints in his closet propped up against the wall! When I asked why he did not have any other original art, he said, he simply did not trust himself, and wouldn't know what was "good" or what he "should" like. I am over simplifying our conversation, and this idea of not trusting oneself isn't completely new to me. I know some people feel they need to be told what is good. My friend was quick to point out the role of the interior decorator (telling people what to like and putting it together for them in the "right" way.) My friend enjoys art and he values it, but he just doesn't think to buy it, and he is not alone. There are many people out there who enjoy art, but just don't feel the need to purchase or simply don't trust themselves to take the plunge.

Living with art is so ingrained within me, that I forget about "trust." For me, wanting and buying art is a natural and intuitive process. I explained to him that I have never lived without it.There were always prints of Picasso, Cezanne, Modigliani, La Tour, Ben Shahn, Klee, and O’Keeffe, along with a good smattering of original art from friends and others in my family home. When I moved out, every apartment of mine had sketches from friends, art oddities, my own paintings, as well as prints. Today, I am the proud owner of many original works by local and national artists. It is a part of my life and in my life; it is a necessity. You are likely to see me wearing the same "good" pair of shoes I have been wearing for the last 5 years, but I will have bought many small affordable pieces of art since. The longer I am a part of this profession, the more I feel the need to support my fellow artists in this way.

I just received a new piece of art in the mail this week, and it is always so exciting and so rewarding! Another connection is made, another artist is encouraged, and my home becomes a reflection of the inner worlds and dreams of another, that then meet with my own visions to create the most personal and unique atmosphere.

I guess today's message is trust yourself to know what you like, and don't wait for someone to tell you when something is good. Don't be afraid to mess up, there are many affordable pieces of art in the world to purchase and to help build your confidence level. For the price of a nice dinner out and drinks, a nice outfit, a trip to the salon, or a new ipod, you could have something special and one of a kind; all the while doing something for the artist that is priceless, encouraging them to continue on the path.

Art is not food, shelter, or a full tank of gas; it is not required to live. Art is not really about having the right taste or style or about value or investment. Art is about a connection, and isn't that what we are all searching for?

Only two weeks away!!

Evidence of the Disappearance
Blue Moon Gallery
718 Central Ave.
Hot Springs, Arkansas
June and July 2008
Opening Reception: Friday June 6 from 5-9pm, during first Friday gallery walk.


Threads
Megan Chapman
Mixed Media on Canvas
30x40"
2008