Tell it like it is- I can take it...

Part 1: Thanks: and the hanging of a new shingle

Thank you to everyone who viewed "Gathering the Evidence" as I write this my little film has been viewed 262 times, and that is pretty sweet. The feedback I received was very helpful and inspiring.Thank you to new friend and talented photographer Craig Nelson who also viewed the video and was moved enough to want to come over and see the paintings in person.We had a wonderful visit, and he took a lovely photograph of my studio. I love making these connections, and creating this community. Craig and I share many of the same ideas about sharing information as artists, so be sure to check out his blog- Shutter to Think, and his wonderful photographs. I was thrilled to find myself featured in his blog as well. Speaking of being featured in blogs, it was a two blog week for me, as I also found myself mentioned and some of my work featured in artist Stephanie Mallicotte's blog. Check it out. It is always exciting to be thought of and included in people's blogs. Thanks for the publicity and support!

I want to mention a brand new service I am offering. I am now available for online portfolio review/consultation. I get approached quite often on MySpace for this kind of service. Send me an email or message with a link to your painting portfolio or questions about your art, and for a $25.00 suggested donation sent to my paypal button here on my blog, I will spend an hour poring over your work( up to 20 pieces) and then give you a list of positives, cautions, and then specifics about each piece. I am very detailed and efficient at this, and I promise as an artist myself, I will be encouraging but you will also get some honest feedback. Once I email the review to you, if you have a few short follow up questions in regards to things I mentioned that is also included in the $25.00 donation. I also encourage folks to read back through my blog, as there is a lot of free helpful information available, you just have to dig for it a bit.

Part 2- Studio News: The Evidence

The work in the studio is going well. I have been hard at work on 2 24x30's and 2 30x24's this week. Moving on to the larger works for the exhibition, things will start to slow down now. Some titles have emerged such as Chatter on the Lines, Caught Between the Disconnect, We talked like Dancing Feet and These are not my Secrets. I hope to create another short film as the work for the Evidence of the Disappearance continues. If you are in Arkansas or close by save the date and come to the Blue Moon Gallery in Hot Springs for the opening reception on Friday, June 6 from 5-9pm

Part 3- What you came here for: A good story

The following quote was written in a moment of clarity 1/4/06 ( yep- we are briefly going back in time again)

"I am a painter. So deeply I am a painter. It makes me want to cry. How can I forget so easily? How can I let myself go without working? Not much brings me more pleasure or happiness. It is earned as this is not easy, no matter how many times I pretend or let myself think it is."

Occasionally, I have to remind myself. I needed to write this down a little over two years ago, and in the future I will write it down again, and it will be like a brand new discovery. I am a painter, yet I know I will forget. Do you forget sometimes? Do you push it aside, burying it under practicalities and the time frames of your life? Do you get discouraged and veer off course?

Some perspective for us both; my first solo show was in a popular local hippie "health food" restaurant in Eugene Oregon, in 1997 just a bit over 10 years ago. I want to share my statement from that show. ( Click on the picture to make it bigger) At the time, as you can see I was just going for my BA at the University. I remember the BFA seemed out of my league at the time. I am so glad I changed my tune, as once in the program I soon learned the F stood for FUN, and I experienced a new side of the art department, and explored all aspects of my creativity. If you read my statement, my main goals were to simply finish school, show and sell my art and move back home to open a "junk store"( it was to be called Finders Keepers- and sadly that hasn't happened, yet...) Looking at this statement, I can't believe I would show a body of work without any titles, as titles are so important to me now. I was so jazzed about this series of work ( my heart pod series) It was in creating this body of work that I became an oil painter and learned a lot about color and texture.

I tied a small spiral notebook to a hook in the wood paneled wall of the restaurant to gather comments about my work. In the front of the book I wrote among other things..."Tell it like it is, I can take it"

So, they told me... You can read a few of the comments for yourself.There were a few positive ones, if you count " Jesus loves you- Megan, " and "Demon painting is the best- I love it" Needless to say I did not sell a single painting from this series of self proclaimed masterpieces, during this show or ever.

My first solo show would basically be considered by many a flop. For me it was the experience that mattered- or at least that is what I told myself.

The show ended and I collected my work and my sad little comment book of scribbles, from the restaurant.I guess you could say, I had some things to consider.

I could've become sad and apparently even more depressed and quit right there.

I could've decided to fulfill the basic requirements for my degree, considered myself a hack and gotten the hell out of there.

Or, I could laugh at it all, chalk it up to experience, resume building and keep looking for other opportunities to show. I am sure you know what I did. If I hadn't, I wouldn't be writing you this blog, preparing for a show, have gallery representation, not to mention collectors across the country.

Time line (a little more perspective)

• 1995 first group show
• 1997 first solo show in restaurant
• 1999 BFA awarded: terminal books project
• 2002 received cash prize at juried art show
• 2003 first major sale
• 2004 first gallery representation
• check my resume at www.meganchapman.com for what happens next...
  

This is not an easy career path- especially when many artists have other jobs, families, and real world responsibilities but if you know that somewhere inside you, your art brings something to your life that nothing else quite does, then I encourage you to stick with it no matter what. Keep building your resume, keep putting yourself out there, keep working on your art, and then don't forget to look back and remind yourself how far you've come.

Remember, "I am a painter. So deeply I am a painter. It makes me want to cry. How can I forget so easily? How can I let myself go without working? Not much brings me more pleasure or happiness. It is earned as this is not easy, no matter how many times I pretend or let myself think it is."

Onward and upward and good luck!

Six Amazing Artists You Should Know

Today, I would like to take the time to spotlight some very hard working artists. These artists deserve your time and attention. They deserve your business, your gallery representation, and your blog comments. They deserve your MySpace messages, and your Etsy reviews. Some of them, I am lucky know locally, and some of them I know only from the Internet, but we are good friends just the same. These six artists blow me away with their skill, determination, and style not to mention the honesty and passion they bring to their work.

First, from Fayetteville, Arkansas, painter Basil Seymour-Davies. His paintings seem impossibly accurate yet loose enough to be abstract in spots and almost surrealist in nature. Upon viewing Basil’s paintings, I am immediately drawn into the psychology of the person who appears caught so elegantly being their true self. Basil’s paintings are always intimate, and they serve as a window into the subjects inner workings. However there is still enough space around the subject to allow our own psychology into the mix. These paintings create an edgy narrative without being overbearing. Basil’s skill in painting portraiture is tremendous and luckily for those of us in the region he will be having a solo exhibition at the Art Center of the Ozarks in Springdale, Arkansas in June 2008. Please Visit Basil Seymour- Davies' MySpace page and his Website for more information about his work and process.

Also from Fayetteville, the incredible work of artist Ben Strawn. For those of you who know me, you know I am a champion of this artist’s work. Seeing Ben’s work was love at first sight! I am not the kind of person who sees something on the web and says “I must have that now,” but I did with Ben’s work. I own a piece from a different series than he is currently working on, but I love everything this artist does. He is an amazing illustrator and painter working with meticulous detail to create this beautiful and strange world filled with insects, animals, and figures co-mingling in odd habitats and homes. He works with paint on layers of Plexiglas which then gives his work a multidimensional feeling. As Ben builds up his inventory of paintings ( he practically sells out every time he shows) he has gotten in the habit of posting a Friday painting on his My Space blog. Please check out his MySpace page and his website for more information about Ben and his exciting and innovative work. On his website you will find a link to prints he has for sale.

Third, Cuckoo Bags by Prairie Grove artist Sarah Nunn. Sarah is an amazing abstract painter in her own right, but she has now turned a corner and created her own wonderfully stylish brand of bags and purses. She has sold her impressive line of "Cuckoo Bags" at local boutiques, and galleries in Fayetteville and Tulsa, and now she has turned to Etsy to market her chic recycled fabric bags. This woman has mad style and a quirky take on fashion. So, if you like being earth friendly and chic, these are the bags that you must carry. I always have one on my arm, and each is unique. For more information about Sarah Nunn’s Cuckoo bags, please visit Terra Tots in Fayetteville or buy online at Sarah's Etsy store.

Alright, moving out of Arkansas now, the amazingly sweet and sometimes nostalgic mixed media paintings, of Michele Maule. Michele is currently a Michigan artist and her whimsical and well designed paintings are flying out of Etsy and out of galleries as fast as she can paint them practically. It has been exciting to learn of her work and how things have taken off for her lately. I feel so lucky to own the piece of hers that I do (the one of the water tower pictured here). Local readers of my blog first got acquainted with her work when she participated in the small works show this December at the DDP gallery in Fayetteville. She uses collage, paint, and encaustic on a wood support for her paintings. They tell shy little stories of her longing to get back home to Portland, sooner rather than later. Her work is fresh and clean yet never sterile. I can always relate to the concept of "waiting" that seems to pop up in her paintings. Michele was just mentioned in décor8, a popular design blog as well as in Real Simple. This artist is very deserving of all the attention she has recently received. So, give her some more and check out her paintings at her Etsy shop as well as her musings about life as an artist, student, and dog lover on her blog. Also check out her lovely new website and her MySpace page.

Now, onto my international friends (thanks to MySpace).

The work of German artist Isabel Reitemeyer. I was immediately drawn to these stark and lovely collage pieces. Isabel’s work struck a chord with me that I couldn’t shake, eventually with the help (if you can call it that) of an online translator I tried to communicate that I was in love with this piece (pictured here) and the rest of her work as well. I attempted to ask her about them and where she showed her work. The translation was a wreck of course and we quickly moved on from there. She said that she is just getting started with these collage pieces and is trying to get together a show, and at some point she may create prints. I love going to her MySpace page, which is currently the only place I know of to view her work. She also has a cryptic website, with her contact information, but that is it. I would love to one day see her work in person. I think her sense of composition, line and humor is spot on. Spare but engaging, I absolutely love this artist’s work. She is one of my favorites. I think she may be a children’s book illustrator as well, but I can’t be certain. Please view her work on her MySpace page. She seems quite prolific, and her page is a joy to visit.

Last but certainly not least, is the work of English painter Steven Heaton, he is also known as “The Factory Supervisor.” Readers of my blog may recognize the factory supervisor as someone who leaves thoughtful comments that seem to come from experience. Steven is an abstract painter that creates brilliantly colored atmospheric worlds made up of paint, metals, strings, and whatever caustic chemicals he can combine to create a beautiful patina. Sometimes Steven turns to his “garden” to take care of any missteps in his process, as he lets the weather and earth do their thing to enhance his stubborn paintings. This artist amazes me in his sheer dedication to his art. He works what seems like beyond a full time job, with hours that reach long into the day and night, and yet he keeps painting regularly; entering and getting accepted into exhibitions, not to mention selling his work. I have included a detail of his work, which shows the lovely metallic patina that adorns his vermilion streak of "sky." This artist also writes a blog that I frequent, and I highly recommend it. The tone of his blog, as he maneuvers us through his life as an artist, is more honest and vulnerable than many I have read. He isn’t selling anything here; he is simply sharing his artistic world and musings with us. This includes all the questions, problems, and inspirations that may pop up in this messy life and take form in his art. I take considerable comfort in his words, and I think you might as well. Go to his Blog, his carbonmade portfolio , and find even more of his work at the ok studios website.

Here are just six of the many amazing artists I know. Again, please give them your time and attention. These artists make me work harder, they fill me with wonder, and they make my world a more beautiful and inspired place.

I hope they will do the same for you.