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| conversation with self |
It's been a hard month - Loss, illness, and unease
It's been a beautiful month - Conversations, understanding, and alchemy
A creative return
Consulting the oracles
My hands have moved
Reclaiming stolen property
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
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| For Brian with gratitude always. |
In case you missed it, you can read last week's post here.
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| New Small Works |
I haven’t written a blog post in ages. I am currently 9 entries behind this year. I am going to endeavour to start filling the gaps and get back on track. Not because I owe it to you, but because my blog helps me to remember things and ultimately it helps everything else in my life. The following entries will be back dated of course and might be a bit more minimal or image heavy while I try to catch up. To those of you who have checked in here, I hope you will get something out of these entries or at least know I am attempting to work my way back to you.
A lot has been going on behind the scenes and my studio blog and my art practice have been the furthest things from my mind. Everything is a bit of a blur and I am finding it even harder than usual to focus. I am looking back at my calendar, photos I took, and social media posts to help me figure out what was happening, against a much larger backdrop that I either will or will not get into.
Thanks for being here.
My last blog post was on February 7 and it proved to be a popular one, or perhaps people just kept landing on it looking for future posts. Either way I am glad many of you allowed me to be dramatic and also resonated with the post yourselves.
Overwhelmed with everything going on politically, I was calling my representatives in the United States from Scotland often this week in February, along with posting political actions on social media. I was holding on to the second season of Severance as one thing I could look forward to every Friday evening even when everything else was going to shit. I started a small series of new works this week as well. Ultimately creating 7 new small mixed media collage works on paper and framing them in simple white frames.
These pieces remind me of a condensed version of the “manual for living” series I created in 2010. Seems fitting - we may need a manual now more than ever.
At this time, I can only offer these works to folks living in the UK due to prohibitive shipping costs and the fact that these are framed with glass. If you are in the US and really want one please message me and I will give you a shipping quote.
Art has the power to inspire and provoke thought, and it can also be a vehicle for change. By purchasing one of these new small works of mine, you are not only supporting my work but also contributing to an important cause. £10 from each sale will go directly to the American Civil Liberties Union helping to defend the rights of all people in the United States.
"With immigrant rights, trans justice, reproductive freedom, and more at risk, the ACLU is in the courts and communities across the United States to protect everyone’s rights."
You can see the entire series together here. You can click the message or purchase buttons next to each image to send me a note of your interest, and if you want to buy the piece, I will email you an invoice with my UK bank details.
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| Okay, Harriet mixed media on paper Art Size A6/14.8x10.5 cm Framed Size 12.5x16.5 cm Megan Chapman 2025 £65 (includes 2nd class UK Shipping) Message for invoice to purchase |
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| Always walking up hill mixed media on paper Art Size A6/14.8x10.5 cm Framed Size 12.5x16.5 cm Megan Chapman 2025 £65 (includes 2nd class UK Shipping) Message for invoice to purchase |
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| Please let us go there mixed media on paper Art Size A6/14.8x10.5 cm Framed Size 12.5x16.5 cm Megan Chapman 2025 £65 (includes 2nd class UK Shipping) Message for invoice to purchase |
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| Let there be moments mixed media on paper Art Size A6/14.8x10.5 cm Framed Size 12.5x16.5 cm Megan Chapman 2025 £65 (includes 2nd class UK Shipping) Message for invoice to purchase |
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| Everything you climb mixed media on paper Art Size A6/14.8x10.5 cm Framed Size 12.5x16.5 cm Megan Chapman 2025 £65 (includes 2nd class UK Shipping) Message for invoice to purchase |
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| Where no one walks alone mixed media on paper Art Size A6/14.8x10.5 cm Framed Size 16.5x12.5 cm Megan Chapman 2025 £65 (includes 2nd class UK Shipping) Message for invoice to purchase |
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Holding Electric mixed media on paper Art Size A6/10.5x14.8cm Framed Size 12.5x16.5 cm Megan Chapman 2025 £65 (includes 2nd class UK Shipping)
Thank you for your support and patience as I get back in the swing of things. Take care of yourself. The world needs you and the gifts you bring. Keep fighting! |
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| A stack of my latest paintings on paper |
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| This David Lynch meme found on the internet is relatable. Just substitute painting for the word film. |
The sun brightens the room after a series of darker and stormy days. The light is lovely, though my phone tells me more rain is coming in a couple of hours. I am content to sit in the sun (however temporary) and listen to music as I type.
I have painted over 200 pieces since the 29th of January. Of course, many are just process works - breadcrumbs on the path to somewhere else. Right now, it's all about returning to the energy and the regularity of the practice. This flurry of activity has been about getting reacquainted with why I paint and draw at all. It's about why I have painted and drawn my entire life.
It's always a re-learning at first, or it feels that way. The return. What lines, what colours, what movements, what compositions, what materials, what moves me? What moves my hand, eye, brain, and heart? What lines are mine, and which lines are borrowed? Do I lean on a trick, a technique, a motif? And why do I lean on it? What does it say about me and how I want to feel? Is it a trick? All the questions swirl and dance while I work. The music is perfect. The music isn't right. Go back again and repeat the song that works - the song and the line meld and get stronger. Taking me away.
Just this past week, the work is starting to trust me again. It's holding me for longer and is starting to talk and tell me where to go. I have had to paint these 200 breadcrumbs to get to this place. Painting is a relationship one must tend.
Thank you for being here and for all the positive feedback I have received about these latest pieces of work. I appreciate it. I can't and don't want to create in a vacuum. The process and ritual are for me, but the work needs you too.
Consider leaving me a wee tip for the paintings (48 over on Facebook) I have shared for free this month. Thank you for supporting my work.
Special thanks to my monthly supporters: Jennifer Libby Fay, Tamsin Haggis, Jennifer Douglas Arbuckle, and the late Pat Bremner.
Do you enjoy the art I create and share? Please consider leaving me a one-time or a monthly tip.
Thank you. Stay beautiful.
