Return: Manual for Living II

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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)

Message for invoice to purchase

A small framed piece of work sitting on a shelf using the ladder back of the frame.
These can also be displayed on your wall. 

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!

2010: My year in review

old roses and my painting when I close my eyes from the white series in my studio

Here we go, it is that time of year again where I cull my mind and past blog posts and remind myself what all happened in my art world over the past year. I think it is important to have a snap shot remembrance of what all was done before I trod of into the New Year. As I have said in the past I am always working and it is very easy to forget what all I have managed to do as I get caught up in the day to day.

I remember not having a plan for 2010. I started the year knowing I just wanted to focus on my work, whatever that meant.

In 2010, I curated and facilitated a number of exhibitions for the Fayetteville Underground. This was a challenging and exhilarating experience. The first of those exhibitions being Pedigree from Hot Springs, Arkansas. I loved that show so much. I remember spending a ton of time in the Revolver gallery the whole month of January just looking at Michael Shaeffer and Christopher Baber's work. I will always look back at that time fondly and with a sense of pride. I hope the artists will as well.

2010 also found me immersed in photography as well as painting, and I had the thrill of two of my photographs being used for the inside cover of Wade Ogle's CD, Lovers and Fighters. I am also excited to have had my photography used for the cover of Melanie McDonald's upcoming novel, Eromenos to be released in March 2011.

I had four pieces in a small and miniature works show that was held over until the end of January 2010 at the Aaron gallery in Washington D.C. The show was reviewed in a D.C. art blog, and I was thrilled when my work was mentioned in the write up. I recall how pleased I was that my work was sought after by the gallery and it was my first showing in Washington D.C.

In January of 2010 the white series was born as well. This will possibly prove to be one of the most exciting developments of 2010.

There were several public speaking gigs in 2010 either about my art, the Fayetteville Underground, the shows I curated, or marketing art in general. I gave a lecture to the Boston Mountain Potters Association, on ways to successfully market ones art. I also gave the talk Art Collecting 101: The Thrill of Original Art at the Revolver gallery. I also gave a 2 hour lecture/tour for students of The Osher Institute . The course was called Artful Spaces: A visit to the Fayetteville Underground. It was a large group of very receptive students, many of which just happened to be my teachers from elementary and junior high school. I remember feeling nervous about the role reversal and I remember how good I felt after I gave the tour. In July I gave an art talk about Institute du Loop's exhibition and in August I spoke about the photography of Christian Demare. In September I lead another lecture/tour for the students of the Osher Institute. In November I gave an informal lecture about my work to a group of university students studying with artist Cindy Wiseman. Speaking about art is something I really enjoy doing, and I hope I have many more opportunities to give these talks in the future.

I mailed off a small work on paper from my Etsy shop to Finland. I had never sent anything to Finland before, so that was a thrill. Thanks to my etsy shop ArtMaven, my work has been collected in Canada, England, The Netherlands, Australia, France, and Scotland as well as all across the United States. 2010 also saw less Etsy work created and sold, simply due to the fact that I was so busy with the white series and all the other work I was doing.

By the end of January, I previewed the first three paintings in the new white series on my blog and the feedback there and on facebook was off the charts- I am so happy I took that perceived risk (there is a lesson in this somewhere). By the second week of February I debuted the first eight pages of the ten page Manual for Living and started to solidify the concepts behind this book of stills. I remember being very inspired and working full tilt as I dove into the white series and didn't hold back. I completed The Manual by the third week of February and finish two more new white series paintings as well. This was a very exciting time for me as an artist.

Sometimes © 2010 Megan Chapman

By the end of February/beginning of March, I paint Sometimes, which for me, is a break through painting in the series. I remember being concerned that I could have pushed it further, but I held back and I am so glad I did. Sometimes, still receives many comments when it is viewed. I will always remember jumping up in down in front of my easel as it was completed as well as the initial feedback this painting received from my studio mates near and far.

By the first week in March there were seven paintings in the new white series and I was still jelling the ideas behind the Manual for Living. Going to the studio everyday was a thrill and I hadn't felt that inspired since art school. During all this time, there was much Underground work being done, as well as showing and selling of my colored paintings. There were a few times while working on the white series that I got temporarily sidetracked or had to take a break to refuel before I could continue. Part of the refueling, was a trip to Picher, Oklahoma to take photographs of this lead poisoned ghost town. It was an experience I will never forget.

In April, the Fayetteville Underground celebrated their one year anniversary and it was great to be able to step back and see what we had all accomplished as a group. By the beginning of April, I had completed ten new white series pieces. The second week of April was spectacular. That week I sold nine of my paintings to a brand new collector. I was so happy to work with this young collector as she bravely selected painting after painting for her collection. I was giddy with excitement and still can't believe it unfolded the way it did. I have been to her house to see the collection and they all look so beautifully hung in her home. I am grateful to her for her support. Her patronage changed the course of my year drastically and for the better in all ways. I will never forget this or her.

Also in April three of my photographs were accepted into a juried exhibition entitled Crafting Place: Interpretations of Natural and Constructed Environments from the Kitchen to the Forest. The Juror was Kenneth Trapp former curator-in charge of the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The exhibition was held in Bentonville, Arkansas at the Sugar gallery. The selected photographs were from the Picher, Oklahoma trip. I was very pleased to be able to share them. This marks one of the few times I had shown my photography in a gallery setting. All the while this is happening, I continue with the white series, steadily building the collection.

White Series debut, Back Vault Gallery, May 2010

In May, with encouragement, I decided to test out the waters with the New White series and I hang three pieces in the back Vault gallery at the underground. I was thrilled when two out of the three sold! At the same time the white series is featured in a couple of fellow artists' blogs and I keep selling my color series works as well. Several new paintings are born in the white series, the painting, Somehow we find ourselves on the same continent is a standout for me from this time period and in fact ends up on another continent, in late 2010. I am spending long hours in the studio at this point, sometimes up to ten hours just painting, I am happy. More paintings are being created I am finding my stride again.

Suddenly we find ourselves on the same continent ©2010 Megan Chapman Sold

By June there are fifteen paintings in the new white series. By mid June I sell another three of the new white series, to a wonderful pair of patrons. I remember the experience of staring at the works with the patron in the gallery. We both just got absorbed into the work for a while, just standing there in silence. I loved that moment. I also loved the experience of going to their home to deliver the work and seeing how well it fit into their space. I love this part of the art world, these connections.

institute du loop: a place to drown from Megan Chapman on Vimeo.

After this experience, I slow down a bit in the studio again, thinking about the upcoming exhibitions I planned to curate in the summer at the Underground. In July, I curated The Institute du Loop's A Place to Drown in the Hive Gallery. This was an enormous task. There were countless emails, chats, diagrams, photographs, writings, ideas, and questions sent back and forth from Taipei to Fayetteville and vice-versa in preparation for this exhibition. It was a very interesting experience to work with another artist in such a way. Clear evidence of how our world has changed, how much technology allows such amazing and inspiring things to happen. I received the exhibition via Fed Ex on two thumb drives with a Chinese stamp in order to sign the work. I also received the artist's composed soundtrack for the exhibition electronically as well. After a lot of hard work by myself and Henry Turner the exhibition was printed and installed and looked wonderful. We were all pleased, and the institute du loop seemed very thrilled. I will always be proud of the work we did together on this.

Even though I was exhausted and busy taking care of the institute du loop's exhibition, I am inspired and complete three more paintings in the new white series bringing the total to eighteen. By the middle of July I also return my focus to the Manual for living, putting into words the concepts behind the works. This was a thrilling experience. Thanks to artists' Stewart Bremner, Jennifer Libby Fay and to my brother, writer Sean Chapman for helping me to edit the words for the statement for the Manual for Living.

a manual for living: a ten page guide from Megan Chapman on Vimeo.

Things Fall Away (as we go under) ©2010 Megan Chapman

At this time I was also able to regain focus and pour myself into a new large painting in the white series, Things fall away (as we go under). I can remember the soundtrack to this painting vividly and walking to my studio smiling. This was a happy time.

Christian Demare in the Hive Gallery August 2010

In August, I curated another exhibition at the Fayetteville Underground, this time the work was by French photographer, Christian Demare. The exhibition is titled Ghosts in the Landscape #2 and contains forty-six images all in the square format. I have long be an admirer of Christian's dark and dreamy worlds and I am thrilled to be able to present his work to my local community. Again, I am thankful that the Internet makes this global arts community possible.

Upon Waking © 2010 Megan Chapman Sold

By mid August, I was the lucky recipient of two large 36x48" canvases from a lovely patron, and then later she brought me an even larger canvas! I found the size an inspiring challenge and produced one of my most favorite paintings called Upon Waking, which got snapped up by a lovely patron in Washington D.C. before it ever left my studio. The other 36x48" painting I create gets traded for a masterpiece by artist Matthew Lyman. Thanks all around.

Delay Before Abandon © 2010 Megan Chapman & Steven Heaton

Also in August, I got word that a collaborative paper painting that my dear friend and fellow artist Steven Heaton and I have been working on, "Delay before Abandon" is going to be in the Chaosmos 2010 exhibition as part of the Liverpool Independents Biennial, in Liverpool England. I have been friends with Steven for over four years now, and we were both very pleased to be in an exhibition together. I was very excited about this opportunity, as I have my work in many private international collections, but had never been a part of an exhibition overseas. This is a highlight of my career.

Thomas Petillo © 2010

Also in August a big sale comes through for me. A two panel (diptych) 40x60" painting called Stamina and Refrain from the 2007 Evidence of the Disappearance series finds a good home. By late August another painting is created in the white series, as I prepare to host photographer and friend Thomas Petillo for his solo exhibition, North, West, East, South. September comes on strong, with some major life transitions. Thomas' brilliant exhibition debuted in the Hive and I was so happy that I got to spend some time with him while he was here for the opening of the exhibition, again I am so fortunate to be a part of this art community that stretches around the country and the world. I have the best friends.

This same month I was interviewed about my responsibilities at the Fayetteville Underground by Christopher Spencer at Ozarks Unbound and it is nice to be recognized for what all I am doing at the Underground. I also received the most lovely letter, left on my studio desk after that first Thursday from a high school student. I remember reading it and tears welled up in my eyes, I was so moved. During this time, I was also finding a bit of press online for the work in the Liverpool independents biennial. I was very excited by all of this.

I managed to break away for a day for a quick trip to Kansas City to the see The Pixies. It was an amazing show, and I come back inspired. Reminding myself again the importance of stopping every once and a while to experience art and different places, that these things are so important to my creative brain. I continually struggle with balance and music is often the answer. By the end of September, I work on one last painting before my exhibition. This begins the cycle I currently in, where I have not been painting.

In October, I kept working on the last painting, while Julie Wait Designs sold five paintings from my colored paintings to a new corporate client, a regional bank. One white series painting travels to Seattle to be a part of the Underground's group show, 13 Underground at the Shift gallery. I also start preparing for my exhibition Falling into Sound to be held in November. I update my website and have business cards and postcards created and devise a way to display the Manual for Living that makes the works on paper presentable but doesn't detract from the art. By mid October the final painting is complete, and I decide it is too different to include in the exhibition, and it is the painting I end up trading with artist, Matthew Lyman- which turned out to be a perfect solution.

Falling into Sound: Hive Gallery from Megan Chapman on Vimeo.

Falling into Sound debuted in November, and I was truly overwhelmed by the way the work looked together in the gallery. Tears came to my eyes often when I talked about the work to my studio mates and at times I still can't believe that I painted the work. It was such a unique experience and what I consider my finest work to date. I will always remember 2010 as the year of the white series and the manual for living. I learned a lot about myself, opened up and was richly rewarded for doing so. The emotional response I received from this body of work was unmatched and will always be treasured. By the exhibition date there were twenty one official white series paintings completed and eleven of those paintings are now sold.

Also in November, I was interviewed about the monthly offerings at the Fayetteville Underground on our National Public Radio station, KUAF. This is now scheduled to be a regular monthly segment. I really enjoy being able to give a voice to The Underground and spread the word about all the exciting exhibitions we have planned.

In November, I also start mentoring a young art student as he builds his portfolio, this is the same art student who so thoughtfully left me the note in my studio in September. We have only met a few times, but his work has already exploded and this has been a thrill for me to watch and I am happy to help.

As the year closes, two of the white series paintings are in Philadelphia in the first annual Snow Flake Invitational exhibition at 110 Church gallery and at Art @t Bridge Club of Center City in Philadelphia. I am very pleased to have been asked to participate. Always a thrill to have my work reach a new audience.

I have also just been asked to do a large 5.5x 7ft commission, and I have a feeling this where my mind will be for the beginning of the new year. I really look forward to sinking my teeth into such a large painting. I also concluded the year with five more sales from my colored series from the Art for the Holidays exhibition at the Fayetteville Underground. I am extremely grateful for the patronage and support. One last, but not least highlight of my year was delivering a painting to a Doctor's office for their Christmas party. The Doctor's thoughtful staff had chipped in to get him a painting of mine and I was there to surprise and present the painting to him. I will never forget this moment- I had such a smile on my face, and I think he was very happy with his gift.

Besides all this, there were additional group exhibitions, meetings, special events, studio mates to enjoy, music to listen to, tons of art to see and new frontiers in living. I wrote several little short stories and took a photograph everyday. 2010 was an amazingly busy year, and I can look back with pride for what I accomplished in my art career, at the Fayetteville Underground, and in my life.

So, how was your year? Did you start a new body of work? Did you get into a show you weren't expecting to? Did you come up with a new concept that you are just beginning to explore and expand upon? I hope you had a great year!

I hope you know that you are a part of all of this, my friends, my family, my patrons, my underground family, and all the artists that I have had the pleasure of working with. None of this happens without you. You are central to my success as an artist. I do not create this work alone. I require support, validation, and understanding and you all do a wonderful job of giving it to me and this enables me to keep fighting and pushing forward to create new works. Thank you. I am inspired by so much in this world and I am so happy to share it with you. Thanks for a fantastic 2010! May 2011 be just as bright or even brighter for all of us.

And as always, keep fighting! The world needs your art!

My studio in a pristine state... goal: keep it messy in 2011

The week after...

Tie a Stone to my heart and watch it sink
mixed media on canvas
20x16" Sold

It has been about a week since Falling into Sound opened at the Hive Gallery at the Fayetteville Underground. It has been a quiet time, time for reflection on the work and the reactions the work has been getting. This past Saturday I gave an informal lecture to a group of university students studying with artist Cindy Wiseman. I really enjoyed the experience, they were a wonderful group of students. We talked for a long time in the hive gallery and then we moved on to my studio briefly. It was a great way to spend a couple of hours on a Saturday.

Viewers seem to have been touched by the work, especially a manual for living. The comment book has been a very interesting and sometimes deeply poignant read. People seem to be responding in a very personal way to Manual and several other the pieces in the exhibition. I am honored that my work seems to touch people. I hope more people will come down and experience the complete body of work as it is currently being shown at the Hive gallery. The exhibition will remain up through November 27. Gallery hours are 12-7 W-F and Sat 10-5. I would love to speak to more classes, groups, or interested individuals about my work. Please email megancha@gmail.com if you would like to set up a time to meet and discuss the work in person at the gallery.

My studio is strangely empty, I started working on some small works on paper and I mailed two paintings off to their destinations this week. One headed to the Washington D.C. area and one to Edinburgh, Scotland. I can't wait for my dear patrons to receive their paintings! I sold an earlier work from a different series to another patron in Liverpool, England this week as well- a piece that was shown at the Aaron Gallery Small Works exhibition that was held last year in Washington D.C. I am looking forward to shipping that small work this week as well. So, this week was also about the tidying up of loose ends and working for the Underground. I also attended another local art event, Art Amiss and took some time to reconnect with some old friends. I was also contacted about possibly mentoring a high school student who is currently in an advanced placement art class. I think we will paint together soon. I am looking forward to the experience.

Today, I spent time in the studio knowing that I just wanted to read a book. Sometimes, I just want to spend time in and around my studio, but I know I don't really plan to work. So, I hung around, talked with my studio mates, read books and looked at a few art magazines. On my way home the sky was grey and the trees were on fire and really popped against the sky. I really enjoyed the colors and the cool air. It felt so good to see and really pay attention to the Autumn.

a taste of autumn

snap shot on the way home from the grocery store

Until next week. You know what to do... Keep Fighting!
Update: The painting featured above sold today!

In other news...

my work installed, First National Bank, Berryville Arkansas
Images courtesy of Julie Wait Designs

This week, I want to share the snap shots of the 5 paintings that are now in the collection of The First National Bank of Berryville, Arkansas. I was thrilled when Julie Wait Designs contacted me again and wanted to use my work in one of their firm's design projects. Julie Wait Designs also used six of my paintings in the offices of Legacy National Bank in Springdale, Arkansas several years ago. I love it when local designers, use local art in local businesses. It is just a win-win all around. I am always grateful to have my work remembered for projects, and enjoy working with designers, and seeing how my art fits in corporate collections as well as in private ones.

In other news, I am making last minute preparations for my exhibition, Falling into Sound to be held in the Hive Gallery at the Fayetteville Underground. I am excited to show in the Fayetteville Underground, especially after curating several other exhibitions in the Hive gallery. I am interested to see how my own work will look and transform the space. My new business cards and post cards will arrive this week, and then there will be the framing of the Manual for Living to attend to and the printing up of my statement and all the other little bits that come together to create a show. My exhibition will consist of eleven paintings on canvas and the ten page manual. All the work will be for sale, and I really look forward to seeing this body of work all together as a cohesive whole and talking with people about the work.

Falling into Sound
Hive Gallery
Fayetteville Underground
November 3-27, 2010.
Opening Reception First Thursday November 4 from 5-8pm

a manual for living: a ten page guide from Megan Chapman on Vimeo.

I hope you have a great week. More about Falling into Sound next week!! As always, keep fighting...and if you are local, mark your calendar for November 4th from 5-8pm.

A Reminder : A manual for living

The manual is not exactly new but certainly not old, and I need to remind myself of it often. I remember working on a manual for living: a ten page guide in the beginning of the year, in the coolness of January and February. I remember the thrill of it, going back in time and as well as into uncharted territory. I remember the pace and the excitement as I watched it lead to many more paintings, the new white series. I remember feeling satisfied.

This week in the studio, has been more administrative rather than creative. Getting ready for the next exhibition, working out the upcoming schedule for the underground studios for next year, cleaning my studio. Nuts and bolts operational things, but at the same time I have looked at art, read about art, talked to artists near and far, I have held and sorted through my materials. It has not been a complete loss. I can not paint every week the way I would like. When I run my hands over my paints, when I sort through my supplies, I do smile. These are my tools, these are the materials I know; my things. These things help me communicate. These things communicate with me.

Here again is a manual for living: a ten page guide, but here also are the words that go with it...

a manual for living: a ten page guide from Megan Chapman on Vimeo.

This was April

A Manual for living : A ten page guide

detail © 2010 Megan Chapman

April was kind and filled with surprises. I am grateful that I keep a blog to remind me of what I actually manage to accomplish in a month. I think artists are so good at ignoring what we actually do, because many times while we are working we are also sitting, staring, napping, dreaming and zoning out in one manner or another. I believe a lot of magic happens in those down times and lulls, no matter how frustrating it feels when we are going through them. I slept a lot and strangely, and took some personal days away from the studio this month. I attempted to take better care of myself and some days were healthier than others, but at the end of the month I can look back and still feel quite proud of myself.

I completed 4 new paintings in the new white series this month that I am very happy with. I sold ten paintings this month. I had three photographs accepted into a juried exhibition and worked on a grant application. I had many great conversations about art and life with friends near and far. I worked on things concerning the Underground studios; I attended meetings. I kept a type of journal, took photographs, took time away from facebook, listened to a lot of great new music, and enjoyed walking around town and the sweet smell of spring on the wind. In a nut shell, I was very inspired and productive this month, and because of this I am grateful.

Thank you all.

Now, let's see what May holds...

And the birds sing sweetly

This is what I wanted to show you last week:

Sometimes © 2010 Megan Chapman

This painting was finished all along. I looked at it in the natural light, I thought about it and studied it for days and whatever I thought I needed to do to it faded away. I am glad I left well enough alone.

While I was waiting for the above piece, I started a new one.

Where Stranger's Dreams Cling © 2010 Megan Chapman

There are currently seven paintings in the new white series. Last night was First Thursday art night at the Fayetteville Underground; the crowds were huge, it was wonderful. My studio was open, and I received great feedback on the new series- it was wonderful to give people a taste of what I have been so excited about. I had moved all my colored paintings out of the studio, so that patrons could only view the new white series and The Manual for Living (a ten page guide). Many people talked about the Manual. My newest work could not have been received much better. I am so pleased and I can not wait to get back into the heart of a painting.

the beginning pieces from the new white series in my studio

Also in my studio, I debuted Delay before Abandon: A Transatlantic Collaboration a new project between myself and English artist Steven Heaton. Click on the link above to learn more about the project. We are both very excited about being able to work together. This project seemed to catch patrons imaginations, all of them thought it was an interesting idea, they wondered how we met, how it felt to cover over each other's work, how thick the paper would become as it is encrusted with paint, would the project last 6 months, 6 years, or twenty? So my studio feels a buzz with new activity, inspiration, and some sort of renewed power.

And last but not least, my work debuted in the Vault Gallery at the Underground last night. I love showing my work in the old vault of the bank that the Underground is housed in. It just fits with the space and came alive under the gallery lights.

Selected works by Megan Chapman: Vault Gallery

So that has been my week! Tomorrow is my birthday, and I don't know what the next year holds for me, but if I can remember the power and passion I have felt in the last month even half the time, I think this year could be quite special. Thanks for sharing this journey with me.

Completion and works in progress

A manual for living
a ten page guide

prologue

The last time we almost touched

The opportunist

The goal was always heartbreak

She smiled while she died inside

Nothing left to wait for, Nothing left to lose

Every time she vanished her heart was smaller upon return

We grew homes inside each others bones

There are storms in her heart

epilogue

This is the manual for living, complete with the last two pages, "We grew homes inside each others bones" and "Storms in her heart." I am still struggling to get the exact color in the photographs, they are a cross between the lush darkness of last week's images and the subtle colors and focus of this week's images. These were painted with white gesso, charcoal dust suspended in walnut oil, and colored and graphite pencils. These are on 140lb. Arches Watercolor paper and are each 12x9" with approximately a one inch border on all sides.

Besides completing the manual this week, I also worked on two other canvas paintings that had been in progress for a while. These are part of the new white series I shared a couple of weeks ago. These may or may not be done, the paintings are done, but they may or may not have words, and they will be given a slightly glossy clear coat in the end.


I hope you enjoy the new works, again I must say it feels great to be finding my rhythm, and exploring the past while I trudge on into the future. Thanks for stopping by and for your support and encouragement.

*the song I listened to on repeat while I worked on the two new white series canvas paintings is here.

A book of stills...

A manual for living
a ten page guide

prologue

The last time we almost touched

The opportunist

Every time she vanished her heart was smaller upon return

She smiled while she died inside

Nothing left to wait for, Nothing left to lose

The goal was always heartbreak

epilogue

A work in progress, as you can see there are still two pages missing.
This song was on repeat and loud, on my headphones the whole time.
Better photographs and completion of this project coming soon...
Thanks for stopping by.