Honey, have I got prints for you!

This week I am excited to present my new limited edition prints! Bringing you more colourful abstracts, bold and minimal selections from the distillation series (as seen on HBO's True Detective), and even work from my Scottish diaspora series are now available! I am focused on creating more ways for you to enjoy and support my work while keeping it affordable, these signed prints range in price from £15-40 and include free shipping in the UK. International shipping available too! Visit my shop and click the prints tab to see them all! https://ko-fi.com/meganchapman/shop

And remember these are printed to order in Scotland by another woman-owned small art business, so you can feel extra good about your purchase as you support not one but two artists! Thank you for stopping by and for supporting my work. Have a great weekend! The world needs you and the gifts you bring. Keep fighting!

A strange phenomenon

My work at Union Gallery

The opening of "The Colour Purple" exhibition last Saturday at Union Gallery in Edinburgh was a lovely way to spend an evening. The space looked wonderful as the light streamed in through the windows illuminating the art while friendly chat was enjoyed.

I am so pleased to have these seven paintings on the main floor as part of this exhibition. It is always wonderful to see the work out of the studio and on a gallery wall. For me, it is always like seeing the work for the first time. It is a strange sensation to know the paintings intimately and to have spent such time with them and then to see them in an entirely new light. They become something else once they are in the gallery or on a patron's wall. It's a delightfully strange phenomenon that I will never get used to.

My work at the Walker-Stone House.
Photo credit: Mayor Lioneld Jordan

Also, last Saturday and at the exact time, but 4,000 miles away in Fayetteville, Arkansas, the Fenix and Friends exhibition was opening its doors at the Walker-Stone house. I was able to see photos of the exhibition from friends and on the city's promotional social media pages. What a wonderful light filled space, the exhibition looks grand, a perfect place for my Reconstruction series. I wish I could have been in both places as once, but at least my art was.

In other news, I decided to introduce a new weekly feature over on my facebook art page. I created a quick check in video chat from my studio. For me, the point of this is to have more immediate interaction with my peers and patrons. Nothing slick or filtered just a quick hello and sharing of my studio space and what I am working on, inspired by and thinking about, in hopes of creating a deeper connection with folks. I need the private dreamy time of creation but I also need the community aspect of conversing about the alchemy of art making. I don't want to be just words and still images on a glowing screen but instead, someone that viewers can get to know. If you haven't seen my studio video chat already, you can view it here.

The Art Scotland interview is getting promoted here and there on social media and I love how they are teasing out the quotes from the piece.

In the meantime, I am still promoting my Distillation Prints from my Etsy shop all the while unexpected abstracted portraits have been popping up in the studio lately when I work. I think they are mostly to entertain myself and for me to just keep moving in between series.

Thanks to a recommendation from one of my friends on facebook art page, I watched a brilliant Joan Mitchell documentary this week. I highly recommend it. Here's a quick phone grab of one my favorite scenes from the film.

It's been a good week of being present in the art world of my making. I hope you are well, wherever you are. The world needs you and your art.

New! Limited Edition Prints are here!

They're here! My new limited edition prints have been released to the world! You can purchase them exclusively through my Etsy shop, Artmaven! 

The Story:

The Distillation Process

- conversations born of charcoal dust, my hand, and heart.

My latest project, "The Distillation Process," is a series of 180 paintings on paper created in January of this year. I wanted to give myself the challenge of creating six paintings each day, using only white and yellow ochre paint and charcoal, over the course of a month. These minimalist pieces focus on movement and gesture, spontaneously capturing my visual language as it is repeated and expanded. The process was a lesson in commitment, structure, and intuition. Confessional and dark at times, yet also quick and bright, the distillation process lead me down a new and vigorous path.

I have carefully selected 19 works from the original 180, that I feel represent the heart of the completed series. The following selections are now available as a series of signed, limited edition prints.

A huge part of the original process was very physical, immediate, and included the use of non-archival newsprint paper, and as such, the originals do not exist to be shown or sold. I will keep the originals in my personal archives and these limited edition prints will be the only representation of the process and the pieces that resulted.

Buying these limited edition prints supports mental health charity work:

10% from each sale from my distillation process limited edition print series will be donated to the Scottish Association for Mental Health. As beautiful as this world can be, there is darkness too, and sometimes we all need help. I want to contribute to people getting the help and services they need so they can experience more beautiful days. You can learn more about the charity and the good work they are doing here in Scotland as well as find helpful resources for yourself or a loved one.

Fine Art Print Details:

These prints are of my original abstract paintings created in my studio in Leith, a vibrant arts community in Edinburgh, Scotland. Each print is hand numbered, titled, dated and signed on the front.

These reproductions are professionally printed in Edinburgh with pigment inks on acid-free and archival 190gsm, 100% cotton rag paper. Archival prints should last 70-100 years so you can buy with confidence and enjoy your art for many years to come.

Available in Paper Size A3: 

42x29.7cm / 16.5x11.69 inches are priced at £65 and 29.7x29.7cm square / 11.69x11.69 inches are priced £45 and are limited to an edition of 25

Each print will be packed with a sturdy backing board inside a clear plastic sleeve and then placed inside a non-bendable mailer and shipped through the Royal Mail either track and sign or special delivery (depending on which size is purchased) in the UK or International track and sign depending on your location.

Thanks so much for your support of my work. Until next week, you know what to do (keep fighting and go buy some art!)

New limited edition prints: Soon!

My armor, my solace, my connection
© 2017 Megan Chapman
signed limited edition print
paper size A3 42x29.7cm/11.7x16.5"

I was pleased to share the final selections from the Distillation Process with you all last week here and across social media. Thank you for your support and excitement over my latest body of work. It means so much to me, I am quite excited about releasing this series in limited edition prints. 

I visited with the brilliant designer, printer, and now shopkeeper, Jenni Douglas yesterday as we made our final decisions on the best paper for the reproductions. Jenni showed me an artist proof of one of my favourite pieces from the series and I was delighted with the quality and richness of the print. The colour and detail are superb and the finish of the archival cotton matte paper is perfect. I happily gave her the go ahead to print the other pieces on this same paper and I should be able to release them into the world next week.

Until then, I have a few details from my artist proof of the piece, My armor, my solace, my connection, to share with you today. At A3 size (42x29.7cm/11.7x16.5") these prints are a beautiful and strong presence.

Wonderful detail and richness

A good size, I can't wait to have my proof framed

A moment of sun hits the print, illuminating the details

Rich in colour and texture with a border for easy framing

Have a look back at last week's post to see the complete series and start thinking about which piece or pieces might be right for your collection. Until next week, keep fighting. The world needs you.