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!

News and the Artist's Statement.

Congratulations to Ginna Funk Wallace! She is this month's winner of the small painting give away! Thank you to all my regulars for commenting. The odds were great this time around, sorry you all can't win one.

I would like to take this time to mention my latest offering. With the help of the online publishing website, blurb.com, I have just published an exhibition catalog for my current show Evidence of the Disappearance.The 8x10" soft cover, landscape oriented catalog is thirty eight pages, with all thirty of my paintings from the exhibition reproduced in full color.

You can preview the first fifteen pages of the book online, by clicking on the "badge" posted here on my blog or visiting this link http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/275573

If you have enjoyed being a part of the process and reading about my exhibition, then this catalog would be the perfect souvenir. I will receive 5 dollars for each book sold, and those funds will help me to continue my work and encourage me greatly.


I wanted to present Evidence of the Disappearance in a permanent and cohesive way. I also wanted to create a catalog as a souvenir for those who saw the work in person as well as for those of you who may never have the chance and I wanted to provide this at an affordable price.

The book is available for sale in Dollars, Pounds, and Euros, and is priced at $24.95 before shipping. There are online coupons codes for reduced shipping rates that will work in the United States and perhaps elsewhere (click on this link and then istockphoto2008 for $7.00 off) this will open the site. You will then click on "bookstore" and then type my name and the discount will be automatically be applied at checkout. Thank you to those who may have already purchased my book, and to those who will in the future. I do appreciate your support, please tell your friends about my publication, or consider putting a badge or link advertising it on your blog or website.

One more news item before we get to work. There is a new project I am involved with in the blogosphere, that I would love for you to visit and bookmark. You Have Us Now, is an artist curated online gallery maintained by Megan Chapman, (that's me!) an artist living in the United States and Steven Heaton an artist living in the United Kingdom. Together we bring you exhibitions of artists from all over the world that we think you should you know. Our tastes may be a bit different, but our commitment to art and to what we like is the same. Our current exhibition is entitled, Two American Men and Woman from Berlin, and features the work of vrno, Mark Traughber, and Isabel Reitmeyer. This exhibition will be up through July. Enjoy!

The Artist Statement:

This topic usually sends artists running for the hills, it seems almost gauche to talk about ourselves, our inner workings, and our work. It really seems absurd to talk about ourselves in the third person (and you really don't have to). Many artists feel that words just get in the way, and that their paintings should speak for themselves. Some artists may even feel that the statement is just pretentious fluff to help shed light on the process unable to be understood by the inexperienced or bourgeois art patron.

To those artists saying all of that, I say get over yourselves. It is not that I don't understand all those feelings I do, but if we are really going to make a go of this we need to learn how to move forward.

Know that your statement is always going to be a work in progress, it is always going to change, there may be periods of time that your statement will be static, but eventually your work will change slightly and your statement won't ring as true and you will know it is time for an edit or a rewrite. So, even if you have a statement currently, look at it with fresh eyes and see if it is still relevant to the work you are producing now. I think many artists cling to their old statements, because they were an arduous task and they just don't want to go through that process again.

When I approach my statement or rewrite I like to brainstorm for a while first. I may sit in my studio with all my work around me, and just look at it, and see and feel what the work conjures up. Then, I may write down words that come to mind when I look at the work- things that stand out. Color, texture, shapes, balance, and concepts. It is important to let go and really just get the words out on paper, you don't have to use them, this is just an exercise.

I am sure you have read artist's statements that are pretentious, reaching, grandiose, stuffed with artsy jargon, yet they mean nothing, and only serve to confuse the viewer more. Your art may be complex but your statement should be as straight forward and with as little artistic jargon as possible. You are trying to bridge a gap, not create a larger one between your work and the viewer. Think of your statement as a short paragraph to help spell out your process and guide the viewer into your work. This is like leaving a bread crumb trail in the forest, you want to lead them in, to explore your art but you also want them to find their way back out again. Make your statement clear, simple and easy to follow. Don't write statements to create further mystique in your work, create them to help clarify.

Use positive action words in your statement. Eliminate words like: try, attempt, hope, strive, etc. You are doing, not trying, you have accomplished this, you are not attempting, and you are not hoping that your attempt to capture whatever was successful. It is successful. This is going to be stretch for some of you, because it seems egotistical, and you are attempting, trying, hoping in your mind. I get that. Keep the statement positive and avoid the passive voice.

Here are some examples of my statements from over the years, some are more passive and fluffy than I would write today, but you can see an evolution, a tightening, a clarification.

2002
"My paintings are an attempt to catch the flashes of buried insight: a haunting memory, a sound, a stillness from within. I approach my painting as a journey. I let the painting pull me along, as if I am following an internal equation. As I look for the solution, I maintain balance within the work. Using a subtle palette, of rusty orange, yellow ochre, pale greens and peaches, as well as rich black dusty charcoal, I strive to let the shapes converse with each other and the viewer. Using a host of almost familiar organic shapes, layers of texture, and faint colors, I create a primitive dream, and the paintings take on an otherworldly quality. I use materials together in a non-traditional manner to create a new world on canvas."

A couple of years later when I was going through a more abstract landscape period of work, this was my statement.

2004
"When I paint, mysteries unfold before me on the canvas. I feel a meditative, yet powerful, connection to the work-a sense of wholeness. These paintings are a series of strange vignettes- little timeless stories, abstractions that touch the sky, the earth, and the mysterious happenings in between. Abstractions turn into something recognized: a sense of place, the expansive sky and horizon. A place to feel the wind or wander through the darkness. The land simply emerges."

Again a couple of year's later upon my return to "pure abstract" painting, my statement became a close version of what is today.

2006
“I love textures and how layers of color and texture come together. I have been exploring different motifs that I find natural and comforting. These shapes are repetitive at times, and often peek out from a hidden space in the painting or brazenly take the foreground. They reflect my love of mark making and how I enjoy the imperfect smudge of charcoal or the gritty pencil line as it floats along the painted surface. Intuitively, I bring these elements together to create an otherworldly atmosphere.”

And my current statement very slightly altered, as my body of work and voice have solidified.

2008
"My work is about my love of color, and the subtle changes that occur when colors overlap, react, and create something new. I also love textures and how layers of color and texture come together. I enjoy exploring space and balance in my work, as well as different motifs that I find natural and comforting. These shapes or design elements are repetitive at times, and often peek out from a hidden space in the painting or brazenly take the foreground. These shapes reflect my love of mark making and how I enjoy the imperfect smudge of charcoal of the gritty pencil line as it floats along the painted surface. Intuitively, I bring all of these elements together to create an otherworldly atmosphere."

There are many resources available either at your library, or online to help you craft a good working artist's statement. If you read a statement by another artist that resonates with you, use it as a template of sorts, but again be careful not to mimic their statement too closely. Remember this is about your work.

Good luck! If you have further questions about this topic, lets hash it out in the comments section!

Evidence of the Disappearance
New paintings by Megan Chapman
Blue Moon Gallery
718 Central Ave.
Hot Springs, Arkansas
June-July 2008
Join me for first Friday gallery walk!
July 4th 5-9pm
www.bluemoonartgallery.com
www.meganchapman.com


We Carry On
30x40" Mixed Media on Canvas 2008
Megan Chapman
Evidence of the Disappearance
Blue Moon Gallery
$1,200

Opening success!

The week has passed quickly after the successful opening of Evidence of the Disappearance at the Blue Moon Gallery. Thanks to all who attended. I hope you enjoyed the show, it was wonderful to meet and talk with everyone. Thanks to all my readers who got caught up in the excitement, no matter where you might have been. Glad you all enjoyed my first vlog last week as well!

Six pieces have sold so far, so I am very pleased with the response the exhibition has received. The exhibition will be up for another seven weeks (until the end of July), so I hope as many people as possible will be able to see the work. If you have seen a piece that you might be interested in, don't hesitate to contact the gallery! I will also be present at the July 4th gallery walk from 5-9pm. Hot Springs, Arkansas has such a vibrant arts community and is always an inspiring place to visit. If I missed you at gallery walk this month, I hope to see you in July!

Today, I want to share some of the images from my opening, so you can get a sense of how the show was hung and the gallery space itself. I also included a few pictures from early in the night, as people first started to arrive. It was a fun night! I am really pleased to be represented by such a wonderful gallery. Mother and daughter team/owners Pat and Dishongh Scavo are incredible. Major thanks goes out to them, and their behind scenes team/spouses Phil Scavo and Steve Lawnick.

Enjoy the slide show and as always thanks for your support.

Evidence of the Disappearance: TONIGHT!

Dear Readers, Family, and Friends-
Thank you for everything.

Love,

Megan

Evidence of the Disappearance
New paintings by Megan Chapman
Blue Moon Gallery
718 Central Ave.
Hot Springs, Arkansas
June-July 2008
Opening tonight!
June 6th 5-9pm

www.meganchapman.com
www.bluemoonartgallery.com

Evidence of the Disappearance: A Preview

For my lovely blog readers I am thrilled to present...
Evidence of the Disappearance.

I have updated my website with my new work and created two new pod casts about the exhibition on there as well.

I hope those of you in and around Arkansas will plan to attend the opening reception on Friday, June 6 from 5-9pm at the Blue Moon Gallery in Hot Springs. I would love to see and meet you there next Friday!

Thank you again for all your encouragement, love, and support. I couldn't do what I do without you all on my team. You lift me up and inspire me on a daily basis. I hope you enjoy my new work!

The press release follows:

Painter, Megan Chapman featured at
Blue Moon Gallery, Hot Springs Arkansas.

Evidence of the Disappearance an exhibit of abstract, oil and mixed media paintings by Fayetteville artist, Megan Chapman will be featured for two months beginning June 6 – July at the Blue Moon Gallery in Hot Springs Arkansas. The gallery is located at 718 Central Avenue in the downtown Historic Arts District.The opening reception will be held June 6th from 5-9pm, during first Friday gallery walk. The artist will be present. The exhibition includes thirty new paintings never before exhibited.

Chapman's work has been featured in solo exhibitions at Remy Fine Art in Ft. Smith, the DDP gallery in Fayetteville, Julie Wait Designs in Rogers, Mullins Library, at the University of Arkansas, and at Gallery Fraga in Bainbridge Island, Washington. Chapman's work was recently on display in the Arkansas World Trade Center in Rogers, Arkansas.

Chapman's mixed media abstracts have been well received, and can been seen in the Fayetteville Shogun Sky bar's permanent collection, as well as other corporate collections. Most recently two of Chapman's paintings were published in Studio Visit, a national juried exhibition in print.

Megan Chapman was born in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She received her B.F.A. in painting from the University of Oregon. Chapman has shown her paintings over the past ten years in Arkansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Washington; her paintings have appeared in various publications, and are in private and corporate collections around the country.

About the concept behind the title and the exhibition, Chapman says...When I paint I listen to music on my headphones, and the music is always a constant source of inspiration and helps me to dive into the work and away from this world; the paintings that result are the only "evidence" of this time spent "away."

My work is always about my love of color, the subtle changes that occur when colors overlap, react, and create something new. I also love textures and how layers of color and texture come together. I have been exploring different motifs that I find natural and comforting. These shapes are repetitive at times, and often peek out from a hidden space in the painting or brazenly take the foreground. These shapes reflect my love of design as well as "mark making" and how I enjoy the imperfect smudge of charcoal or the gritty pencil line as it floats along the painted surface. Intuitively, I bring these elements together to create an otherworldly atmosphere.

Please join us to welcome Megan Chapman at her opening reception of Evidence of the Disappearance June 6, from 5-9 PM at Blue Moon Gallery. The exhibition will continue through July. For further information please call the Blue Moon Gallery at 501.318.2787 or visit the website at www.bluemoonartgallery.com

Boxing up the Evidence

First some news:

I will be at first Friday gallery walk at the Blue Moon Gallery in Hot Springs, Arkansas tonight from 5-9pm.If you are in the area, please stop by, I would love to meet you. I will also be there next month, Friday June 6, from 5-9pm for the opening reception of my exhibition, Evidence of the Disappearance. Please mark your calendars- I would especially love to see you then! I am very excited about my new body of work and can't wait to share it with you.

I also want to let everyone know that Studio Visit, Volume One arrived in the mail this week! Two of my paintings, Olivine and Secrets Revealed were selected to be included in this new juried publication in print, produced by the publishers of New American Paintings. I am thrilled to be a part of this beautiful and elegant publication. Two thousand of the best galleries and museums in the country will be receiving Studio Visit as a source book, featuring some of the many talented, emerging artists from around the country. I am so pleased to be a part of this new publication by the Open Studios Press. You may be able to obtain a copy by visiting their website. Each gallery that represents my work, will receive a gallery copy, so when you visit them please ask to see it!


















Boxing up the Evidence: It's almost time...

The finishing work takes hold now, and there are different practices to follow at this stage in the process. New lists are made to separate the important tasks from the jumble that is my mind four weeks before a show. Things must be broken down into even smaller more manageable parts. Daily, I must stay on task with a new vigilance.

The majority of the work is now titled. The sides of the paintings have received three solid coats of black paint before they are signed up the right hand side in gold. Hanging wires are fastened. The work has been photographed, and those photographs have been scrutinized. The paintings are looking quite put together now.

The music changes for this process as well. Interpol fades away and the headphones are put down for a while. Now, mixtures of "work" songs filter through the open air of my studio. Compilation Cd's from dear friends and the soundtrack from the film Pollock will propel me to the finish line.















It is always amazing how a body of work can come together out of nothing. These paintings, these difficult births, always surprise and overwhelm me. When were they all created? How are they finally, really here? My heart is full with all the love, support, and time given to me so that I may simply put colors and textures together to hopefully create something beautiful and unique: something that transcends daily life. Sitting in my studio so close to being done, tears well up in my eyes. I am so fortunate to be able to share this experience with the artists that are always with me, the ones that have come before me and the ones that will come after.

There is an invisible thread that runs between us; and the evidence proves this.


Pictured above:

Fragile Together
Mixed Media on Canvas
10x10, 2008

Delivered like Thunder
Mixed Media on Canvas
20x16, 2008

We Talked Like Dancing Feet
Mixed Media on Canvas
16x20, 2008

These are just three of the new paintings that will be featured in my upcoming exhibition:

Evidence of the Disappearance
Blue Moon Gallery
Hot Springs, Arkansas
June and July 2008
Please join me for the opening reception Friday June 6 from 5-9pm
During first Friday gallery walk.

My paintings at your finger tips.

December is drawing near, which gets me in the mood for a year end wrap up. I think about where I have been and what I have done and of course what I have not yet done as well. I like to tidy things up before I waltz into the new year.

This year has been fantastic for me artistically. Many opportunities presented themselves and I tried to grab a hold and participate with as much fervor as I could. I secured representation by several fantastic galleries this year, and sold quite a bit of work to wonderful clients all over the country. My work was chosen for publication by Studio Visit Magazine to appear in the premier issue coming out in February 2008. Four of my large works were purchased and permanently placed in the brand new and beautifully designed Shogun Sky bar in Fayetteville, Arkansas. I participated in five solo/featured shows this year, and participated in some great group shows as well. I also started writing this blog, which has given me a much needed and enjoyed outlet. There are still many other exciting opportunities that are wrapping up the end of my year.

I am grateful for all the support and wonderful conversations that I have had with people near and far about my art and art in general. The conversations, encouragement, questions, and ideas that we exchange mean so much to me. I am honored that I get to share my work with you all.

I am excited to be preparing for my last show of 2007, entitled "Secrets Revealed" which will be held at Remy Fine Art Gallery at the Town Club in Ft. Smith, Arkansas. I will be showing twenty nine paintings. I am pleased to be showing with PJ and Steve Robowski as well.

This will be my first exhibit in Ft. Smith and I look forward to talking with the folks there about my work. If you are in the area, I hope you can join us at the opening on Thursday, December 6th from 5:30-7:30pm at Remy Fine Arts in the Town Club at 720 Garrison Avenue. The exhibit is free and open to the public. Check back next week on my blog for images of that body of work.

Speaking of all the wonderful galleries that represent me and my paintings. I want to share those galleries and their current selections of my work with you. The slide show below features my work that is currently at the M2 Gallery in Little Rock, Arkansas. If you see a piece that you are interested in please contact Mac Murphy at the M2 Gallery. I am thrilled to be showing with the M2, and recently enjoyed participating in the Best of the Northwest show. I also enjoyed getting to know all the other talented artists that are represented there.

The slide show below showcases my work currently at the Blue Moon Gallery in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Contact Pat or Dishongh Scavo if you want to know more about my work shown there. This year I participated in the gallery's 10th anniversary celebration exhibit to mark the successful 10 year history of the Blue Moon Gallery. This December I will be down at Gallery Walk for "An Ornamental Affair" a CASA benefit. All the artists have created beautiful and unique ornaments to be auctioned off for a great cause. If you are in the area, come to the first Friday gallery walk and bid on an ornament. Gallery walk in Hot Springs is always a good time.

This next slide show is of my work currently represented by the DDP gallery in Fayetteville. This past summer, my work was shown alongside Helen's Phillips' brilliant ceramic work in our show entitled "Intuition." The show was a huge success, eleven of the twenty pieces that I showed sold. The DDP gallery also facilitated my work being placed in the Shogun Sky bar in Fayetteville. Very thrilling. The DDP gallery represents my work exclusively for all of Northwest Arkansas. Contact gallery owner Dede Peters for more information about my work.

Last, but certainly not least is my work currently represented by Gallery Fraga, in Bainbridge Island Washington. I was so excited when gallery owner Jeff Fraga contacted me after finding my paintings online and offered me an exhibit. My first featured exhibit with Gallery Fraga, "According to the Vapors," was held in March. I am pleased to have representation out in the Pacific Northwest after spending six years in Oregon while in school. I do love that part of the country. As part of the exhibit, I created a pod cast about my work and creative process, even talking about some of the specific pieces in the show, you can listen to it on their site as well. Contact Jeff Fraga at Gallery Fraga about the work you see below.

This past year, I also enjoyed exhibiting, "The Path that Light Takes," at the Mullin's Library at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. It was a joy to hear from students and staff members that my work had a calming influence on them. It was a great feeling to see how my work can impact a public space by transforming it with color.

Another opportunity that presented itself this year was my exhibit, "Spellbound," at the Julie Wait Designs Gallery in Rogers, Arkansas. It was a wonderful opportunity to share my work with a whole new group of folks. It was great to meet the people there and talk about abstract art and design.

So, as you can see it has been an exceptional year, and if you are now reading this you are a part of it too. I thank you, and I hope you have enjoyed my work this past year, and I hope you will enjoy it for many years to come.

If you enjoy what you read and see in my studio blog, please pass it on to other people who might enjoy it too.

* The slide shows originally published with this post are now out of date. Many of these works may still be available for purchase. Please check my website to find out their current locations as well as, my most up to date gallery affiliations. www.meganchapman.com

Hot Springs Gallery Walk

Well, I am off to Hot Springs gallery walk.
I am looking forward to being with the wonderful folks at the Blue Moon gallery, talking to people about my art, and enjoying the sights and sounds of Hot Springs.