Sogo Magazine!

I needed to buy some varnish this past weekend so off we went to Greyfriar's art supply on Dundas street and there it was... Sogo Magazine!

I was so excited to see the magazine in a rack by the counter with Alasdair Gray's cover drawing. I grabbed a copy to purchase along with my varnish and then decided I better grab two. As soon as I hit the pavement outside the shop, I had a good flip through this beautiful and elegant publication. The reproductions were stunning and the paper was wonderful. Truly a top notch publication, well designed and filled with great art and artists and brilliantly written articles. 

I excitedly read bits of Brian McFie's article, The Beautiful Mind Laid Open, about my work outside on the street to Stewart as we walked on to a nearby pub to celebrate. Stewart took these mobile photos around the corner against a wall on Circus Lane to capture the moment. I was giddy.

I took to social media and shared a quote from the article soon after. I will share it again here along with a few others but truly I hope if you are in Scotland that you will find a copy of the magazine locally or go online and subscribe. It is obvious how hard everyone involved works on Sogo from how much energy, talent and passion is contained within the pages.

This article means more to me than I can properly articulate but simply put, it is what I have been working for all these years and what I will continue to work for. To have my art seen, understood and appreciated in this way is balm for my soul. To have my art written about in this manner in my adopted home of Scotland is just the right kind of fuel for my fire and inspires me to keep going and assures me that I am in the right place, doing the right work. This validation is beyond compare and I am grateful. Thank you to Brian McFie for taking the time to see and engage with my work in this way and for articulating his experience in print.

So here are a few select quotes from Brian McFie's piece that brought tears to my eyes and a smile to my face. 

"I ventured downstairs and was delighted when confronted by three works on canvas by Megan. Much bolder in real life and just as dynamic as I hoped they would be. The handling of the media employed had a thoroughly informed power behind it."

"The composition was dynamic, the approach searching, it's creator pushing limits and tussling with philosophical, poetic and metaphysical questions and ideas."

"This is difficult territory. One has to be brave to go there. To my mind the name Megan Chapman will eventually be held in as high esteem as Mitchell, Frankenthaler, and De Kooning. (Elaine that is, her work should be held in as high esteem as Willem's). These artists should in turn be revered as much as their male counterparts, Twombly, Motherwell, Rauschenberg and Pollock."

"It is clear to me that this artist, an American, far from home embarked on a journey, which is traveled to this day both inwardly and outwardly. The work speaks to the heart of the heart from the heart. It is a profoundly enriching body of work. As with earth, water and air. Essential."

I held my breath the first time I read a rough draft of this piece. My face turned red. I closed my eyes and blinked to make sure of what I was reading. My work had been seen and understood and the evidence of this was in print. I was understandably floored. 

I have given my life to this calling. It is a hard path at times and doesn't always make that much sense to some (including myself). Sometimes though, something like this article happens and then everything makes sense. I smile to myself and for a little while, I know exactly what I am doing and why. I breathe in this victory, put my headphones back on and get back to work.

"...to the heart, of the heart, from the heart."

Time moves swiftly...

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.

Maps of the Night: The First Fourteen

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

strangely she let the words get stuck in her throat
mixed media on paper 24x 36"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
Sold

When he went under the waves she could feel it in her sleep
mixed media on paper 24x 36"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
Sold

there is a line that runs between them under the ocean
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

their static radio voices whispered as they sang their secrets
mixed media on paper 24x 36"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
Sold

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

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

on distant shores they bury their fear
mixed media on paper 24x 36"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
Sold

he watches the sky and gives his cloud report
mixed media on paper 24x 36"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
Sold

The Maps of the Night were photographed by Don House.

Out of the darkness and into the fire...

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...

December: Original art at your fingertips...

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!

The week after...

Tie a Stone to my heart and watch it sink
mixed media on canvas
20x16" Sold

It has been about a week since Falling into Sound opened at the Hive Gallery at the Fayetteville Underground. It has been a quiet time, time for reflection on the work and the reactions the work has been getting. This past Saturday I gave an informal lecture to a group of university students studying with artist Cindy Wiseman. I really enjoyed the experience, they were a wonderful group of students. We talked for a long time in the hive gallery and then we moved on to my studio briefly. It was a great way to spend a couple of hours on a Saturday.

Viewers seem to have been touched by the work, especially a manual for living. The comment book has been a very interesting and sometimes deeply poignant read. People seem to be responding in a very personal way to Manual and several other the pieces in the exhibition. I am honored that my work seems to touch people. I hope more people will come down and experience the complete body of work as it is currently being shown at the Hive gallery. The exhibition will remain up through November 27. Gallery hours are 12-7 W-F and Sat 10-5. I would love to speak to more classes, groups, or interested individuals about my work. Please email megancha@gmail.com if you would like to set up a time to meet and discuss the work in person at the gallery.

My studio is strangely empty, I started working on some small works on paper and I mailed two paintings off to their destinations this week. One headed to the Washington D.C. area and one to Edinburgh, Scotland. I can't wait for my dear patrons to receive their paintings! I sold an earlier work from a different series to another patron in Liverpool, England this week as well- a piece that was shown at the Aaron Gallery Small Works exhibition that was held last year in Washington D.C. I am looking forward to shipping that small work this week as well. So, this week was also about the tidying up of loose ends and working for the Underground. I also attended another local art event, Art Amiss and took some time to reconnect with some old friends. I was also contacted about possibly mentoring a high school student who is currently in an advanced placement art class. I think we will paint together soon. I am looking forward to the experience.

Today, I spent time in the studio knowing that I just wanted to read a book. Sometimes, I just want to spend time in and around my studio, but I know I don't really plan to work. So, I hung around, talked with my studio mates, read books and looked at a few art magazines. On my way home the sky was grey and the trees were on fire and really popped against the sky. I really enjoyed the colors and the cool air. It felt so good to see and really pay attention to the Autumn.

a taste of autumn

snap shot on the way home from the grocery store

Until next week. You know what to do... Keep Fighting!
Update: The painting featured above sold today!