It's all in the details!

a snapshot of the print detail from "Dancing in the Old House"

a snapshot of the print detail from "Dancing in the Old House"

a snapshot of the print detail from "Dancing in the Old House"

a snapshot of the print detail from "Dancing in the Old House"

a snapshot of the print detail from "Dancing in the Old House"

a snapshot of the print detail from "Dancing in the Old House"

a snapshot of the print detail from "Dancing in the Old House"

I am thrilled to share with you the incredible quality of my new prints. This print holds the essence of the original work with vibrant colour and clarity. I couldn't be happier with the outcome, and I can't wait for more folks to take the plunge and live with my art as affordable prints. 

I probably don't promote my print work as often as I should but after getting this one back from the printer I am definitely going to have to rethink that! From archival ink to heavy-weight paper, the print really speaks of quality. I love to support the local social enterprise designed to benefit and support artists that is, Bare Branding. They are wonderful printers. I'm thankful for Andrew and the team over there - they are doing important work! 

"Dancing in the Old House"

I packaged this one up this morning and posted it to Washington State. Where will I be sending the next one? 

Buying prints is a beautiful way to bring art into your life and also a fantastic means of supporting artists. When you purchase prints, you are directly contributing to our livelihood, allowing us to continue creating and sharing our vision with the world. This support can make a significant difference in our lives. 

As with original art, prints can also help us gain new patrons. When you display a print in your home or office, it serves as a showcase and can spark conversations about our work. This can lead to more opportunities for us, including commissions, exhibitions, or even collaborations.

Print buyers are valuable patrons of the arts. These buyers get to enjoy more affordable art as they build their collections while continuing to make a meaningful impact. Don't ever underestimate this! Thank you to all my print collectors past and present (and you future ones too). 

Visit my online shop to pick up your own print! I have 36 different images to choose from ranging in size and budget ranging £20-£55. https://ko-fi.com/meganchapman/shop just click "prints" to view that section of my shop. Thank you!!

Until next week, keep fighting! 

Special thanks to collectors of my original works along with my prints and to my regular Ko-Fi crew. You all make my heart sing and keep my lights on! 

Looking back: Ghosts of the Past

Explore the Scottish diaspora in the United States through my series of limited edition prints from my "Ghosts of the Past" series available exclusively online in my shop. 

This series of paintings dives into Scotland's history and culture as it relates to the Southern United States. Explore genealogy, poetry, and painting to gain a feeling of this moment in time. 

Whether you're Scottish, American, or neither, these paintings explore the immigrant experience and provide you with a unique insight into the lives and stories of those who made their way either through choice or clearance across the Atlantic to begin again.

"You can't make them say the old familiar words their mouths move in different ways"

This limited edition giclée is printed locally using lightfast, archival quality EPSON UltraChrome HDX pigment inks on 310gsm archival smooth cotton rag paper. This print will be signed and numbered in pencil. The print is A3 sized/11.7×16.5" Edition of 50  

Each print will be packed with a backing board inside a clear plastic sleeve and then placed inside a non-bendable mailer and shipped with care through the Royal Mail.

Shop

"There is too much space here and always of the wrong kind"

This limited edition giclée is printed locally using lightfast, archival quality EPSON UltraChrome HDX pigment inks on 310gsm archival smooth cotton rag paper. This print will be signed and numbered in pencil. The print is A3 sized/11.7×16.5" Edition of 50 

Each print will be packed with a backing board inside a clear plastic sleeve and then placed inside a non-bendable mailer and shipped with care through the Royal Mail.

Shop

"You are of the land you left behind, you built the land that will remain a stranger"

This limited edition giclée is printed locally using lightfast, archival quality EPSON UltraChrome HDX pigment inks on 310gsm archival smooth cotton rag paper. This print will be signed and numbered in pencil. The print is A3 sized/11.7×16.5" Edition of 50    

Each print will be packed with a backing board inside a clear plastic sleeve and then placed inside a non-bendable mailer and shipped with care through the Royal Mail.

Shop

"You see the faces of the forgotten and lost as shadows dance around your children" This limited edition giclée is printed locally using lightfast, archival quality EPSON UltraChrome HDX pigment inks on 310gsm archival smooth cotton rag paper. This print will be signed and numbered in pencil. The print is A3 sized/11.7×16.5" Edition of 50    

Each print will be packed with a backing board inside a clear plastic sleeve and then placed inside a non-bendable mailer and shipped with care through the Royal Mail.

Shop

Reflections of Bannockburn house and new small works.

The house kept us just warm enough as we walked the old wooden floors and looked out through the open doors. I balanced a perfect cup of tea on an old radiator behind the red wingbacked chair in front of the window. Abstract art dotted the walls and furniture. It was a perfect rainy Saturday and a sunny and sweet Sunday would follow. 

I relaxed into the old space. It felt like home to me - solid and calm. A place of solace, in its old age and slight decay - authentic and real. It breathed the damp into its bones just as I did. Occasionally, I would be called out to walk beside the five sisters, the old redwoods planted just a bit too close to completely thrive, but oh how they survived anyway. 

Everywhere you looked around the old house and grounds there were stories of perseverance and hope. An ideal setting to show and share art.  

Thanks to everyone who came along to see the Abstractionistas at Bannockburn House this past weekend. We enjoyed sharing our work in such a beautiful and historic home. Visit the Bannockburn House website to learn how you can volunteer or consider donating to help restore this community-owned treasure.

https://www.bannockburnhouse.scot/

In other news, I have listed the remaining nine small works I painted especially for the exhibition, they are on raw canvas and are mounted and ready to pop into a standard 8x10" frame. You can find them all in my Ko-fi shop.

https://ko-fi.com/meganchapman/shop

I hope you are well, happy and inspired. Never doubt what a small group of dedicated and passionate individuals can do. Thanks for being here. 

Wherever you go, there you are

September is here. Autumn approaches. 

I can't say that I am exactly ready for it. Time moves so quickly and I am not looking forward to the short, darker and wet days. 

I have to borrow inspiration. I can feel that seasonal new beginning feeling around the edges of things if I close my eyes and try (like making a wish on a birthday cake). Like the best parts of a "back to school" montage from my youth. A time of reinvention. Every autumn I tried to be someone else - I believed it was as easy as changing your hair and makeup while trying to emulate a Benetton or Espirit advertisement from my Seventeen magazine. It never worked and the weird, old soul, new waver/art-punk kid emerged after a few weeks.

Wherever you go, there you are.

I am sort of ready to get clear on what that weird, old soul, new waver/art-punk now squarely middle-aged woman needs right now in her life, in her work and in her community. I am thinking the next 6 months may need to be radical and filled with hard work and deep truths. 

I haven't been painting much lately - mainly because I feel that I have exhausted the home studio capabilities. I am ready to "fuck shit up" with paint and I can't do that in a rented house. Also, I have a perfectly good studio just waiting for me. It's so complicated. The studio costs money, getting to the studio costs money, covid is still out there (public transport). Making art costs money and I have a studio full of completed paintings just waiting to find homes. Art sales have slowed to a stop and it almost feels decadent to paint more things to store, document, and archive. I have been quite down about it. I wrestle with the whole point of this art thing. The market is saturated, everyone's work starts to look the same, and social media can feel like a cornucopia of shite. 

However, regardless of my feelings, opportunities keep showing up and I am prepared for them and this is a good thing. 

Helensburgh Art Hub

Dalkeith Palace

Solo Gallery

And a visit to Bannockburn House as a potential venue for the Abstractionistas collective. Enjoy the latest Tuesday Studio Video Visit if you missed it. 

 

I am honoured to be a Ko-Fi ambassador and feel truly supported by the Ko-fi platform. I will be launching my membership tiers in the coming days with lots of wee treats and rewards for my ko-fi friends when you become a monthly supporter. I am excited to be getting that in order. 

Don't forget I also sell my small works and prints exclusively through my Ko-fi Shop.

I am learning new skills, networking and trying to get clear.

I've been hitting the yoga mat more regularly again and soon, I will be out exploring on more walks (as I do walk more in the autumn and winter here in Scotland to make sure I get the light and nature I need). 

I even have an idea for a future body of work so that is a good sign. 

This is such a weird gig. Being a painter is like putting on ill-fitting clothes, all the seams are wrong and it's been cut strangely but you still love them, even though you can't lift your arms or sit. 

This is my blog, my space, my truth and my feelings and there is nothing to fix. 

Bring on the soup, the cosy jumpers, the long walks, the plans, the dreams, and especially the "fucked up" art. 

Let's get radical.

Thanks for being here.

Ghosts of the past revisited. Limited edition prints.

 

"You can't make them say the old familiar words their mouths move in different ways"
This is a limited edition, giclée print is on heavyweight archival matte paper (220gsm/81lb) and will be signed and numbered in pencil. The print is A3 sized/11.7×16.5" Limited Edition of 50
 Purchase

"There is too much space here and always of the wrong kind"
This is a limited edition, giclée print is on heavyweight archival matte paper (220gsm/81lb) and will be signed and numbered in pencil. The print is A3 sized/11.7×16.5" Limited Edition of 50
 Purchase

"You are of the land you left behind, you built the land that will remain a stranger"
This is a limited edition, giclée print is on heavyweight archival matte paper (220gsm/81lb) and will be signed and numbered in pencil. The print is A3 sized/11.7×16.5" Limited Edition of 50
 Purchase

"You see the faces of the forgotten and lost as shadows dance around your children" 

This is a limited edition, giclée print is on heavyweight archival matte paper (220gsm/81lb) and will be signed and numbered in pencil. The print is A3 sized/11.7×16.5" Limited Edition of 50

Purchase

This series combines genealogy, poetry, and painting, exploring many aspects of the Scottish diaspora in the United States.

I think of these paintings as giant pages from a weathered picture book of my family’s past. The silhouettes of my Scottish ancestors float across the painted page, while tea and coffee stain the background. The blue represents water, air, and dreams. The map lines connect the figures to their homeland and to each other through time as memories of the past and present haunt and comfort them. A type of poetry bridges the gaps and tells their stories real and imagined. This is my story and theirs but it is also yours and ours...

This is the first time these particular images from this 2013 series have been offered as prints and I am delighted with these A3-sized limited edition reproductions.

I am so thankful for the orders and tips I am receiving just now. 2021 has been much slower for me than 2020 and with fewer grants and less available funding so please know you are making a difference and keeping me going. Thank you! Have a great weekend. - Take care - Megan 

We've been here before : A mixed collection of works

This week I am presenting a collection of my available A3-sized works on paper completed in 2020. These works are from five separate bodies of work. These are all available in my shop and are for sale at £125 which includes free tracked and insured UK shipping. 

If you would like to break that payment into 3 installments of £41.66 just send me a message to megancha at gmail dot com and we can set that up. The bottom line is that I want you to live with my art and I want to keep doing what I am doing and be able to pay my bills. 

Thank you and please enjoy. 

Memory Serves Original mixed media painting A3 size/11.7x16.5” 200 gsm heavyweight acid-free cartridge paper, 2020 Signed, titled, and dated on the back   Purchase

We've been here before 

Original mixed media painting

A3 size/11.7x16.5” 200 gsm heavyweight acid-free cartridge paper, 2020

 Signed, titled, and dated on the back 

  Purchase 

A sequence of webs and sad after parties #3

Original mixed media painting

A3 size/11.7x16.5” 150gm smooth cartridge paper, 2020

Signed, titled, and dated on the back

Purchase   

A sequence of webs and sad after parties #1

Original mixed media painting A3 size/11.7x16.5”

150gm smooth cartridge paper, 2020 

 Signed, titled, and dated on the back 

Purchase

A sequence of webs and sad after parties #2

Original mixed media painting, A3 size/11.7x16.5” 

150gm smooth cartridge paper, 2020 

Signed, titled, and dated on the back 

Purchase

Solidly in the centre (not moving)

Original mixed media painting, A3 size/11.7x16.5”

150gm smooth cartridge paper,

2020, Signed, titled, and dated on the back

Purchase

Rebuilding. Sketches for a new tomorrow #4
Original mixed media painting, A3 size/11.7x16.5”
150gm smooth cartridge paper, 2020
Signed, titled, and dated on the back
Purchase

Rebuilding. Sketches for a new tomorrow #3

Original mixed media painting, A3 size/11.7x16.5”

150gm smooth cartridge paper, 2020

Signed, titled, and dated on the back

Purchase

At first, our boundaries will be defined
Original mixed media painting A3 size/11.7x16.5” 200 gsm heavyweight acid-free cartridge paper, 2020 Signed, titled, and dated on the back  Purchase 

Lost in the sea
Original mixed media painting A3 size/11.7x16.5” 200 gsm heavyweight acid-free cartridge paper, 2020 Signed, titled, and dated on the back  Purchase

Fresh like spring
Original mixed media painting A3 size/11.7x16.5” 200 gsm heavyweight acid-free cartridge paper, 2020 Signed, titled, and dated on the back  Purchase 

Held captive but the walls soothe you
 Original mixed media painting A3 size/11.7x16.5” 200 gsm heavyweight acid-free cartridge paper, 2020 Signed, titled, and dated on the back  Purchase 

Thank you for being here and for supporting my work. If your walls are full and your budget is tight, please consider leaving me a tip (click the pink button) for the art I provide for your enjoyment. Thank you. 

Until next time, be well. We need you and the gifts you bring.

Welcome the new

The maps have changed
mixed media on 200gsm acid-free paper
42x59.4cm/16.5x23.4"
©2020 Megan Chapman
£300

A couple of art things happened this week, I think (remember what I said about time in last week's post).

I was delighted that one of my latest paintings, 'The maps have changed' was used in the SCAN (Scottish Contemporary Art Network) member mailout. I am a proud member of SCAN. Find out more about the organisation and consider joining. We are stronger together! https://sca-net.org/about/. It is always rewarding to be able to have my work shared within a community of my peers across Scotland. 

In other news, I tried something a bit different and with some trepidation. I have been wanting to create some "Artist 101" style guides for artists just starting out for a long time now. Perhaps for the artists that may not have any other means of moral support or encouragement or those that won't have the opportunity to go to art school or are returning to art from a break. Sometimes we all need some friendly and helpful advice especially when it comes to calling ourselves, artists. So, I created a colourful and fun 8-page pdf to help us gather up the evidence, gently step into our truth, and believe in ourselves and our art! It's a short, sweet, and kind guide to thinking a little differently about putting ourselves out there. I am offering it in my ko-fi shop starting at £3. I hope to make other guides in the series soon. It's a bit of an experiment just now. Thanks to those that have purchased and those that previewed my wee guide so far. Suitable for most ages and experience levels. You can find it here, https://ko-fi.com/s/706ceb33e5.

Of course, this is election WEEK and I have been glued to CNN feeling cautiously optimistic... 

The world needs you and your art, your thoughts, your passion, your heart. 

Thank you.

Money Talk: Studio Update

As many of you know, I have not been using my studio space since the second week of March. However, I have paid my studio rent in full for March, April, May, and June. Thankfully the Drill Hall management offered studio holders 1/2 off our studio rent for July, August, and September which I made use of. My studio rent at the drill hall is £203.69/month (and includes wifi). As of now, in October I will be paying the full amount of rent again. 

To enable me to pay the rent as I have during this time, I applied for and received £600 from the Bridging Bursary Fund offered through Creative Scotland (almost enough to cover 3 months of studio rent). I also applied to and was accepted for a commission to create a short studio video visit to represent and promote the Drill Hall along with my friend and fellow drill hall resident Mairi Brown for the Leith Late Virtual Studio and Mural Tours. This wonderful opportunity thankfully paid £200 - again, almost enough money for another month of studio rent. I have engaged in my own personal fundraising, raising another two months of studio rent on my Ko-fi site, a place where patrons can support artists. I am so thankful for all of this support and am delighted to have worked on something with Leith Late as I have wanted to for years now. 

I applied for and received both self-employment grants from the UK government and will apply for a third much lesser grant when it becomes available. During this time, I have been actively promoting the galleries that represent me, while also selling my art directly to my patrons online to sustain myself. During these strange days, I have been focussed on promoting more affordable originals as well as prints as I know most folks are being as frugal as possible just now. I participated briefly in the artist support pledge on Instagram as well. I scoured the internet for other funding sources and grants, applying for two grants that I sadly wasn't chosen for, and I also applied for an art tutor position that I also didn't get. So as you can see, I am taking action steps to stay afloat during this time as are many others. It's obviously quite competitive out there just now. 

I currently live about an hour's walk away from the studio or a 20-minute bus ride and the distance does, of course, hamper my ability to access my studio even when the building itself is now relatively safe with the new COVID measures in place. I have been in my studio once in July, once in August, and twice very briefly in September - as you can imagine paying for the studio and the wifi, while not using it, will eventually become unsustainable. I want to keep supporting the Drill Hall. I don't want to give up my studio and I also don't want to go into deferred debt (ie: a rent holiday which is another option the management has offered). I wrote the drill hall hoping that perhaps the half rent scheme could be extended or some other measures put into place while I and many others continue to work mostly from home solely as self-employed artists.

I appreciate that we are all struggling and I hope the Drill Hall has been the recipient of various government grants and other means of support as it is an asset to the community and one that I am proud to be a part of, long may it last.

I have been thinking about the future and other ways I can adapt even more with the ever-changing situation. After a productive spate of painting and drawing over 45 pieces from home since late March I haven't painted as regularly. The two main reasons for this are; firstly, the novelty of making smaller more controlled works in the corner of my living room is wearing off and secondly, with a good selection of paintings at a variety of prices, small works, and now prints, I need to sell some more work before I invest more money into making new work. This second reason and feeling will change because ultimately I make work to express myself and not only to make money. I have done well with this time and have expressed a lot and luckily sold a lot as well - which I am immensely grateful for. So more likely this is the classic ebb of the work and not me just digging in my heels. Regardless, I really do need to think of the viability of the studio in the future. 

Thank you to everyone who has bought a painting, small work, or print online, gotten in touch about a commission, or donated a cup of coffee, or sustained me through regular subscription donations. Thank you to the two patrons that bought refugee pieces during this time so I could donate money to a great cause and get two more bikes on the road. Thank you to a dear friend and patron who bought my ailing cat some prescription food and another dear friend and patron that helped to keep me in materials and regular donations during this time. Thank you to Jennifer and Tamsin my two monthly subscribers on Ko-fi. Those regular monthly amounts are extremely helpful! Thank you. 

All of you are keeping me afloat as well as the drill hall studio rent paid. And I know many of you are struggling too. 

I am thankful for you. I know I have been behind a bit in the blog lately and certainly in the Tuesday Studio Video Visits, but I plan to get back in the swing of things, so keep tuning in and watch this space! 

Anyway, again - I would rather write about the colour alizarin crimson or the tooth of the paper or canvas but sometimes, we just have to get real and talk about money...

Until next time, keep fighting! The world needs you and your art, your care, and the light you bring. 

https://ko-fi.com/meganchapman/shop 

get your prints and small originals here

https://ko-fi.com/meganchapman 

help support my work one cup of coffee at a time

Refresher: How to find my work.

Just a quick update to say that besides my three accidental portrait prints now available in my ko-fi shop, I have added more of my works on paper that I created during the lockdown time, as well as adding the remaining charity canvas panel pieces to benefit Bicycles for Refugees and our new Scots. In this shop, I have work from £45-£270. You can see these available works here.

https://ko-fi.com/meganchapman/shop

I have updated my other shop that has my larger bodies of work from 2015-2017. These are all larger canvas pieces, varnished and ready to hang. In this shop, I have work from £440 - £1,080. Currently, I am offering these pieces at a 20% discount and free shipping as a thank you and to offer an incentive to keep supporting the arts. You can see those pieces here:

https://meganchapmanart.wixsite.com/painting/shop

You can also visit my website for some of my more recent works. Prices are marked, so send me a message about anything you might be interested in. Payment plans are always available for my work (even some galleries offer them- so don't be shy). I love working with interior designers, so if you are one please get in touch!

http://meganchapman.com

And of course, you can find my work in the following wonderful brick and mortar galleries in England and Scotland and I know they will appreciate your business as they slowly begin to reopen and continue with online sales as well.

Irving Gallery

Solo Gallery

The Velvet Easel

Thank you for supporting my work and the galleries that represent my work. We can't do this without you.

Be well.

With love and gratitude,

Megan

Consider supporting my ongoing work and content by leaving me a £3 tip. Thank you! https://ko-fi.com/meganchapman

Studio Visits, Exhibitions, Prints, and More!

I haven't drawn or painted since last week. I did walk to my studio on Tuesday and had an emotional re-entry and then gave it a deep clean and filmed my Tuesday Studio Video Visit. If you missed it you can see it again here.


After I recorded that video and moved some furniture around and regained my composure, I recorded a second video in my studio that you won't see for a while yet. Earlier this month, I applied for and was accepted to participate in a paid project with Leith Late, a virtual open studio a digital project, which will create a virtual map plotting studios in Leith. At each point on the map, there will be one video per selected artist showing their workspace within the studio along with a gallery of still images of their work. Leith Late is working to deliver the project with academic partners from The Science, Technology, and Innovation Studies at The University of Edinburgh. So as you can imagine I was very excited to be accepted into the project with a lot of other wonderful artists and makers from around Edinburgh. I can't wait to see what they do with all the videos and materials gathered from the various participants. I will keep you posted when the project officially launches! 

This week included more good news and opportunity: 
Two of my paintings have been accepted into the Paisley Art Institute 132nd Annual exhibition! This year due to Covid-19 the exhibition will be online, so now everyone can enjoy it! I am delighted to be part of it this year!

The Paisley Art Institute (PAI) has been at the forefront of promoting and supporting Scottish artists’ work since 1876.

The exhibition will be launched on 25th July 2020 on their website. http://www.paisleyartinstitute.org 

These are the pieces that were accepted.

I Carry The Light
Mixed media on canvas
2019 Megan Chapman
80x80x4cm
£1,450

The Anchor Holds
Mixed media on canvas
2019 Megan Chapman
80x80x4cm
£1,450

In other news, I launched my prints this week in my new Ko-Fi shop! The only place you can purchase the new limited edition prints of my accidental portraits! https://ko-fi.com/meganchapman/shop I am delighted that six prints have sold so far! You might imagine which one is proving the most popular just now - shocking! 

COLLECT

COLLECT

COLLECT

Dear patrons and collectors of my work during the lockdown: Thank you all for your much-needed support and encouragement. Your want of and belief in my work really kept me going. I have started preparing your work for the post today and will let everyone know as soon as I have posted your work to you so that you will know when to expect it roughly. Please keep in mind the postal service is still running a bit slower than usual and it may take me a bit longer to get everything organised again, but today I shall start the process! Thanks so much for your patience and again for your support!

And that's all I have for you this week on this Juneteenth. I will leave you with the powerful voice of Mahalia Jackson. Here's a petition to sign to make Juneteenth a national holiday. Click the link to sign: http://chng.it/vX95jbdqyf