Autumn is for dancing

A Closer Look: September 2023

Well hello, my beautiful readers,

It's Friday and I have had two cups of coffee and the sky is featureless and grey. I am listening to a fantastic old song on repeat (but of course). Later, I will walk over to the studio and hang out with my fellow artists in our exhibition, A Closer Look. You will know from previous blogs and social media posts that our show is ending on Saturday the 23rd at 5 p.m. So if you are a local reading this and even thinking about how you might like to see it in person - just get up and go (my blog can wait).

Oh, Autumn, I am mostly enjoying your rain, wind, grey, your dappled light through leaves still green but also turning yellow and falling. I am still jazzed about your autumn energy and of course the return to my beloved real coffee. It just tastes better in the fall.

I am not painting right now but I am working, learning, and dancing. Loads of dancing to the fantastic old songs. 

Autumn is for returning to our homes within.

I dreamt of a painting last night, a new painting that I might paint. A whole idea for a series in a dream. I love that when it happens - it is a rare gift.

So on that note, I will share one more promo video of the exhibition and get ready to go. Thank you for being here and for your support. Keep fighting.

2023: Ever Onwards

Happy New Year!!

Thanks to everyone who waded into my 2022 year-end review blog last week. If you read it last Friday you really deserve a gold star as that was before I went back and edited. I went over it the next morning and made some major edits for ease of reading and clarity so feel free to go back and give it another try if you struggled the first time. As always the practice of writing about the year is helpful to me and allows me to see and experience it differently than just walking through it and not looking back. 

So here we are six days into 2023. How are you feeling about it? It seems too soon to judge - it takes some time to shake off the festive period and of course, we are still in the middle of winter. I feel like hibernating a bit longer. I have been for some short walks. I have done a bit of yoga. I have listened to a lot of music and I have thought about what comes next and how I want it to feel and look. It still feels vague and hazy. 

I feel like I need to do this art thing differently. Sometimes I think I need to just give up and do something entirely different but I am pretty sure that's not the way forward. I think a combination of things will need to take place. I also just think it is a matter of time. Clarity doesn't happen just because a month, day, or year rolled over. So, I will take a few steps forward, I will try a few things and I will wait and observe and try again. That's pretty much how I have done it all these years and with a lot of help. Ever onwards.

In other news, I created January's playlist for my Ko-fi Supporters. 

This month's mix casts a wider net, a worldly and electronic palette/palate cleanser - encouraging us to dream bigger in 2023. Just thinking of all the music we get to listen to is a reason to celebrate!

PS. Did you know that if you are a monthly supporter you get an automatic 10% off items in my shop? It's true! No coupon is needed - the discount is applied automatically. 

Support my work one time or monthly: https://ko-fi.com/meganchapman

Thanks to my December Wall of Famers! You make a difference!!

And that's all I have for you this week. Keep fighting, keep showing up and keep exploring this beautiful, confusing world. We need you here. 

Like my vibe? Support me! 

I know where I have been

It was a good week. On Tuesday I spent 9 hours in my studio, moving, cleaning, and touching everything - making space. As I handled my materials and put my like objects with like objects, I remembered a little more about what I have dedicated my life to and what I value. I enjoyed my time in the studio - it felt good with new energy and purpose.

Box cutters, scissors, glue, twine, pastels, charcoal, brush after brush, paint, papers and canvas, work in progress, and finished works were all there on hold, patiently waiting for my return.

They issued statements, dedications, lamentations, and more importantly declarations.

I make things and experiences. I elicit feelings. I love it when you feel. Better you than me. Just kidding, feelings drip off me like honey. I have feelings to spare, have a spoonful. 

I posted a Tuesday Studio Video Visit after my marathon clean, if you haven't seen it yet, here it is again.

In other news, I also made time to pop by a friend's exhibition this week. Esther Donaldson was showing her brilliant portraits as part of a 3 woman show called, “Untraced Stories” at Dundas Street Gallery. I’m lucky I caught it just before it closed.

Find and follow these talented artists on Instagram and beyond.

@estherdonaldsonart / Esther Donaldson

@justinemarymiller / Justine Miller

@rosybpainter / Rosy Barnes

I was too busy chatting with the artists and enjoying the exhibition to take photos, but here’s a photo of my newest acquisition - this wonderful portrait by Esther Donaldson. I have wanted one of her fabulous portraits for a while now, so I’m delighted!

Portrait by Esther Donaldson

Detail by Esther Donaldson

Besides all of this, there has been meditation, yoga, exercise, walks, other bits and pieces of work and all the self-care you can shake a stick at. I love the spring - the flowers, the fresh green, and the new beginnings.

This morning, I listened to this old song and danced.

Try it and then continue to fight the power. Joy is necessary!

Thank you for your support.

A thousand decisions and conversations had with ourselves

Art has the power to rewire our brains. A thousand choices build up the layers of a painting, a thousand decisions and conversations had with ourselves and our materials.

In my normal day to day life, I sometimes obsess over making the wrong choice, ordering the wrong meal, buying the wrong sweater, saying the wrong thing, or choosing the wrong what, when, where, why, and how. I think I will be disappointed in my choice or someone will be disappointed in me for my choice.

However, somehow with my art, I don't worry as much. I know what I am choosing and why. The materials and I dance, we have this little back and forth, we compromise and the painting always sets us straight in the end. I love this. I love this knowing, this understanding, this trust and relationship I have with the process. I still have doubts and I still get it wrong but I mostly know the rules and the plan when it comes to painting. I know what I want and how to get it from my painting and that is a freedom rarely felt elsewhere or with much regularity in my life.

I have now danced across decades with these materials, paintings, and choices. My brain is better for it and my soul certainly is. My experience allows for all of this, the time spent with little paintings, big paintings, talking about paintings, writing about paintings, looking at paintings, as well as promoting mine and other's art. I keep showing up at this crazy calling that is at the heart of who I am. It's what I just seem to know, like a secret language built from years of exposure, training, learning, sharing, seeing, but mostly feeling and daring.

I wouldn't recommend this profession to many people because it is not stable or responsible and it requires help and support from multiple sources but damn, if you can stomach it, if you are lucky enough to find that support; patronage, family, friends, partners, and spouses that somewhat understand, then do it, and dive into the language, and never look back.

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