Totally Rad (you are)

totally rad (you are)

Oh hello there, you'll be happy to know I am on the mend from the wee lurgy. My health has now thankfully returned to mostly normal. 

I have been learning and practicing Qi Gong since June and I am really thankful for what I am learning and how I have been aided by the practice so far. I think it helped me recover from this virus a bit faster. Or maybe it just comforted me while I recovered. I have always been a Yoga person but Qi Gong seems to support me in a different way and I always love learning new things. There's room for both in my life. 

I can't believe we are already nearing the end of September. It was 12 years ago tomorrow on the 26th that I arrived in Scotland for this grand experiment. 

This also means, it's coming to the end of my featured September series. This month, I took a look into my archive of available small works and shared, Weathered. A series of original paintings on rough edged canvas embracing the worn, beautifully broken, and silent. These wee pieces also feature a bit of an autumnal chill - dramatic, sweeping, and abstract yet still of the land and sea and the space between. 

Take a moment to enjoy and purchase these works before the end of the month, as a different series will take the stage in October. 

Weathered 

Until next week, keep fighting (especially like this total badass)! 

With love and gratitude,
Megan 

My lungs are sad

I am wearing the worst jeans on the planet. You will never see me in public in these jeans. I can't even look at myself in the mirror. I will donate these awful things soon. 

I am recovering from being ill this week. You know what that does to my mind... it runs roughshod over me highlighting every fear, weakness, and every regret and mistake I have ever made. Such a bullshit thing for my brain to do when I am already down.

I watch a replay of World News Tonight with David Muir and then think "well, that wasn't good for my immune system." I turn to social media for a break where I am then sold a million optimisations for my kind of brain alongside celebrity gossip and random shit for the outraged and perimenopausal. 

How's your week going? I painted a picture of my inflamed lungs but you aren't going to see it - just like these fucking hideous jeans... 

I love you. I miss you. 

This line tells the truth

good things 

Paper, pen, water, and paint

Dirty brushes in a pretty cup

Early morning light and the sound of rain

Writing letters to the ether with an inky pen
Asking for guidance

Showing up and looking for a friend

Tearful and raw

I get my answers

This paper is more important than anything 

and this line tells the truth

I abandon myself so easily 

But we are speaking again

Like old strangers

Turning the corner with suprise and delight

Our one thousandth homecoming

X

The magic is in the schedule and in the practice

Small works framed for The Velvet Easel Gallery exhibition: "Off the Wall"
Happily, the two on the right sold on opening day. 

Dear Readers, 

I don't seem to have much to say about painting right now and I find that very frustrating. My studio blog is an important part of my process. It is a practice that I value right along with my painting. They work in concert together. My painting spurs on my writing, and my thoughts, words, and daily life spur on my painting. They each help me understand my motivations and why I paint. Sometimes, it's a simple reportage post of what happened one week in the studio, sometimes it's a love letter to the process, and sometimes it's just photographs of the work. The point is, whatever my blog is, I show up each Friday (well, usually). 

The magic is in the schedule and in the practice. This important practice has been hard for me lately. So here's to checking in, acknowledging the importance of the process, and stating my intention to get back into it. That's really all I can do. It doesn't help that I have had three viruses in the past 6 weeks. Perhaps this is a sign to slow down and nurture myself, to breathe in and breathe out and just be. There is an ebb and flow to nature and right now I am in the ebb. Looking forward to sharing the flow again with you one day soon. 

Thanks to all of you that check in here, your support and interest are also part of the process and part of my community that I hold dear. I plan to "catch up" later this weekend.

To quote Thich Nhat Hanh, "Darling, I care about the suffering."