Messages on the wind

to the weir

Dear Reader,

I hope you are okay. Before I sat down to write to you, I opened the window to let in the crisp morning air and I said good morning to the moon.

Earlier this week, I walked by the water of Leith on slick yellow leaves, mud, and cobbles, and found myself at the foot of my favourite tree, seeking refuge. I breathed in the damp earth and sent messages on the wind.

process

Last weekend, I managed to paint, but I couldn't focus. I washed my brushes, looked at my previous work, and pushed some paint around. It's all part of the process and practice. I am reminded of this repeatedly.

On a rare Wednesday off work, I met my friend Julia for a day of art in the city. We saw the following exhibitions: * = personal highlights

RSA Academicians Gallery: Toby Paterson RSA

Scottish Gallery: *Modern Masters XIX, *Rachel Larkins - Raising Ghosts, Lachlan Goudie - From the Forest to the Forge

Open Eye Gallery: Adrian Wiszniewski RSA, Jonathan Gibbs, Alex Malcolmson and select artists from the gallery (*David Schofield RGI)

Graystone Gallery: Boundless Motion: Land & Form - Astrid Leeson & Sophia Pauley and select artists from the gallery

Rachel Larkins' jewellery exhibition at the Scottish Gallery was magical and enchanting, with plenty of favourite pieces. The Modern Masters XIX exhibition has some wonderful Joan Eardley pieces among other standouts.

At the Open Eye Gallery, David Schofield's piece, This Mortal City, appeared illuminated from within and was captivating with its dreamlike narrative.

down stockbridge way

Thursday was mostly a blur, but that brings us to today's exhibition, or rather, experience.

Leith School of Art: *Jessica Wolfson - Rain, I don't mind

On my way home this afternoon, I popped into Leith School of Art. And by popped in, I mean I interrupted a group of women chatting in front of the school, and asked if I could go inside to see the exhibition advertised on the fence. They buzzed me in and then left me to it.

Once I entered the space, the familiar art school smell overwhelmed me in the best way. The natural light, white walls, and spareness of it all felt like home. I continued through the space following Wolfson's paintings through an entryway to the school's small library as the exhibition continued. I turned to look at the wall of art books and felt a catch in my throat as a beautiful stained glass window caught my eye. I took a postcard with course offerings and then let myself out. I waved my thanks to the group as I made my way off the small campus.

Back on the road, my soul absolutely ached - it had recognised itself within those walls. The old Norwegian Seaman's church turned art school was calling after me, "come back... you've lost your way - please, come back..."

As tears welled up in my eyes, I heard the old building loud and clear.
____________________

Until next week, keep listening.

With love and gratitude.

X.

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.

Faces, updates, support!

Hello lovely folks!

I hope you are well. Thanks again for your support of my work during these strange days.

I have not yet been back to my studio in Leith to begin working again. I am being slow and cautious in my re-entry. 

Just a quick update to say that besides my three accidental portrait prints available in my 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 leaving me a £3 tip. Thank you!

Return the gift

For what it's worth 62x76cm mixed media on canvas, framed in white, 2019, Megan Chapman
 Currently available through Irving Gallery. 

I am writing this post on Monday. I know my blogs have been backdated A LOT these days. Part of it is due to simply getting out of my routine and part of is that I don't feel as connected to my readers as I once did. I know that my lack of energy for this space and lack of readership go hand in hand. This space is still very important to me. I don't enjoy it as much when it becomes solely a promotional platform and it has been that A LOT lately. I like it more when it becomes a thoughtful, dreamy place where I can write freely and express some other part of my art brain that is usually held closer within and secreted away. Sometimes, I don't even want to write about my studio practice here, so I may feel limited at times by the scope that I originally set for this blog back in 2007. 

I realise of course, that I can write whatever the hell I want to and as I don't have the same dedicated art following here as I once did when blogs were king and social media meant MySpace, now is really the time to regift this space to myself. I am a painter and I write as part of my practice. Sometimes it is overtly connected and sometimes it is not and that is enough. This space is mine. 

Welcome to the re-gifting of Megan Chapman's Studio Blog. Imagine I have cut a long velvet ribbon with gigantic golden scissors and if you want, you are welcome to cross the threshold. It's like an old shoe with a new set of laces. 

I am listening to Beirut's song "Gallipoli" on repeat turned up loud on my big wireless headphones. I am still a firm believer in a good song on repeat to take me somewhere or to give me the space to find somewhere new in my brain, this is my sonic meditation. Music is everything to me. 

So here we are, in our Covid-19 days. I have not been to my studio in 2 weeks. I didn't think when I was there last that I wouldn't be just right back. I didn't gather up materials or supplies to work from home. I wasn't thinking that far in advance to our fast-approaching new reality. I live about an 18-minute bus ride away from my sacred space. I, of course, could walk there and have done so in the past or I could even ride my bike. I am not so sure if that is a good idea anymore. 

Today, I haven't even gone outside across the road to the wee beach (Wardie Bay) as more and more people are going out to nature and not observing the social distancing rules (2 metres/6.5feet) it becomes more difficult to feel safe or to avoid people. So here I am, trying to figure out a way to work from home in this new reality. 

If any of you have visited my studio in Edinburgh or even back in Fayetteville, Arkansas (at the Fayetteville Underground or any of my home studios) you will know that I am not a passive painter and that there are marks left behind on the walls and floors and that I can't seem to politely paint at an easel no matter how hard I try. So, of course, my work will change as I work from home. Perhaps more collage elements, more written or typed bits, or just tighter cleaner wee paintings. Who knows. I have worked from dining room tables, kitchen counters, and small spaces before. And god knows, I love a challenge. Perhaps there will be more accidental portraits but on a smaller scale. I really don't know. 

All of my exhibitions have been canceled and the galleries closed and I won't be venturing out to the post office to mail any art at this time either. So there goes my livelihood along with so many others. My livelihood is probably more predisposed to this type of upheaval. I am used to working alone and I am used to financial uncertainty. I am used to offering up my work for free to view online just make people happy or to infuse some beauty or interest into their days (I see your Covid-19 pet posts, singing posts, cooking posts and I thank you for them). You may now have a better sense of what many artists and creative people's lives are like. That desire to shift the narrative, to entertain, and to help others with whatever you feel you have to give and it isn't about money. 

However, I feel like The Giving Tree right now (I have always been the tree in that book). Currently, I feel like the stump at the end. This is mostly because I haven't been working as regularly (after that 2019 year-end flurry and I've been spending my time this year getting ready for what I thought was to be an exhibition flurry in 2020). Now, I am away from my studio, the galleries and shows are closed, I am not making my Tuesday Studio Video Visits, and I can't even send you art if you wanted to support me. I feel like I have nothing to give. I know this is not exactly true but it is a feeling that has crossed my brain a few times lately. 

And now watch what I do, I will turn it around. I am pretty good at this part, my middle name is Campbell (but it really should be Resilience). One day when I finally get around to making "my weirdest fucking art yet"™ maybe that will be the name I use - Resilience Campbell. 

So, okay back to the turnaround. Here I am, giving you this, I am writing my Studio Blog - better late than never and I think it's going to pretty good so far. I have ordered art supplies today. Just a few things to get me going again - yellow ochre, black, white, pink, turquoise paint (gotta have some colour!) charcoal sticks, brushes. Thanks, Pat for the birthday giftcard to the art supply store! I still need a few other materials (there seems to be have been a run on oil pastels!) and another generous friend has offered to help me with this. Thanks, John! 

Many of the galleries I show with are posting work online across social media and have e-commerce sites or are in the process of developing them so that patrons can still buy art in order to support their galleries and artists. They are thinking of new ways for us all to stay connected and in business with online art talks and more! For all the links look at last week's post.

After posting this blog, I will start to clear a space where I might be able to work (and as the weather warms I will be able to use the outside patio space too and get some fresh air while observing social distancing/isolation protocol). Tomorrow, I will record a Tuesday Studio Video Visit from home and might change up the format a bit. I still want to get the rest of my videos from Facebook and put them on my YouTube channel - and it looks like I will have plenty of time now to do that tedious task. I can update my online shop and can create new incentives for patrons to support my work- as in it's a great time to put a painting on layaway - at installments that you can afford. There are many things I can do to maintain my practice (and it might not just be painting) and hopefully generate a bit of money. Basically, I need to create my own WPA projects and hope that our capitalist systems fall in line with what is really happening with rent and mortgage freezes, utility freezes, support for the freelance, self-employed and gig economy WORKERS around the world and a basic universal income while we are helping each other by staying in place.

Honestly, haven't we all just been thinking of surviving and protecting our loved ones? This is not the best headspace for me to make art and I am not feeling too creative except for in the kitchen (yes, cooking is an art) but I have lived through many times in my life when it was not the best headspace for making art. The art changes and the headspace changes too. We don't wait for inspiration, we create the conditions for it and we catch it in the ether. Today, I vow to set the stage and have my internal butterfly net alerted to catch the wild ideas that float past. I have more to give, I am not done.

Be well, stay safe, distance, and isolate. Wash your hands. We need you and the gifts you bring, now more than ever. 

With love, gratitude, and hope for the world, 
Megan 

Enjoy my blog and my work? Consider becoming a one-off or monthly supporter. Thanks! Support Me on Ko-fi

Now showing at Solo Gallery

This week I thought I would shine a spotlight on the seven paintings that are currently with the lovely Solo Gallery in Innerleithen, in the Scottish Borders.

A Shift in the weather

76x76x4cm
Mixed media on canvas
2016
£1,350

To Tell You Everything  
40x40x4cm
Mixed media on canvas
2017
£550

Where We Say Goodbye
40x40x4cm
Mixed media on canvas
2017
Sold

Far Away
40x40x4cm
Mixed media on canvas
2017
£550

Precipice
51x41x4cm
Mixed media on canvas
2017
Sold

On the wind
Mixed media on canvas
20x20x4cm
2019
Sold

The sea whispers to me
Mixed media on canvas
20x20x4cm
2019
£325 (framed)

Contact gallery owner Kate Hayes or go by the gallery in person to enjoy these works of mine and the many other brilliant works on show at the lovely Solo Gallery.

51 High Street, Innerleithen EH44 6HD 

Phone: 07495 710687
Gallery hours:
10am - 5pm daily, except on Tuesday when the gallery is closed. The gallery is also open on Sunday from 12-4pm.

Follow the gallery's Facebook and Instagram pages to stay updated as well. 

I am delighted to be showing with a new vibrant and exciting gallery specialising in contemporary arts and crafts.

UPDATE: I have created a short podcast to go with these works. I hope it will add something to your enjoyment of the work. Listen here: 

Listen to "Megan Chapman: Solo Gallery: Innerleithen" on Spreaker. 
Next week, we will be talking about all things Oxford, and the Irving Gallery's exhibition, "A place to breathe" which opens Feb. 29th, featuring six of my paintings as well as the wonderful work of many other talented artists! Until next week, I hope you are well, happy, and inspired. Thanks for being here with me.

I am not a woman of leisure

The Velvet Easel Gallery

Portobello, Edinburgh

Scotland

You can catch my work in the Of Night and Light Exhibition until the 1st of March 2020.

Dancing Light Gallery

Edinburgh

Scotland

You can catch my work in the Winter Warmth Exhibition until the 29th of January 2020.

Fenix Gallery

Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA

Ask to see my available small works and limited edition prints

Small works shop: 

https://meganchapmanart.wixsite.com/shop

On all your favourite channels!

Web: www.meganchapman.com

IG: instagram.com/ethermaven

FB: facebook.com/megan.chapman.artist

Twitter: twitter.com/ethermaven

And of course, at my studio G23, located at 36 Dalmeny Street Leith, Edinburgh EH6 8RG, I will gladly open by appointment. 

Walls too crowded, budget tight? You can still support my work. Click the link to buy me a coffee. Consider becoming a one-off or monthly supporter for exclusive content. Thanks! Support Me on Ko-fi 

The community I crave

So, I took my list of wants (my wee manifesto if you will), turned to the Internet and invited a few professional abstract painters to see if they would like to join me in creating a private online forum. I was pleased with the swift response. We now have a group of about 30 members. I am excited to see where the group goes and what issues we will tackle together. If the community you want is not currently available you just have to make it yourself. 

This is from a post I shared over there to get even more clear on my intent for the group.  

"When I put out the call across social media to start this group, I wasn't just wanting to talk about "how to make it as an artist or how to sell paintings." There are loads of marketing schemes and "how to's" already online. There are plenty of templates readily available and articles to read and resources at our fingertips. I am grateful for those and I am glad we can group some of those resources here for folks to easily find. I also know we need money and that artists are often exploited (or we exploit ourselves) because of this need. Exchanging information about this is vital.

However, what I really crave is the conversation about painting, about being an artist, about how we see the world and how we are received in the world. The sound it makes as the charcoal hits the paper or canvas. The way your favourite colour makes your heart sing, the way you may feel misunderstood by your family, friends or society in general. Or how you were born to be an artist, standing rooted and supported by centuries of artists behind you. Or how this calling takes us and can rewire our brains and guide us forward to new places, relationships, and communities. Yes, I need money - believe me I do. But I also want to share the passion I feel for painting, for art. I refuse to turn this into just another job or career. It is not.

I do want to come together and talk about what we are working on. What we are exploring, what we are obsessed with, where it is taking us and then our fears, doubts, and joys as we follow the work and then of course what to do with it all..."

So dear reader, if you are an artist reading this blog, I encourage you to comment on it and share something going on in your personal art world. We are always stronger together. We can learn and grow from each other. Yes, we need isolation to make our work but we don't have to stay isolated and we don't need to create in a vacuum. In the coming year creating the community I crave is going to be my priority (along with continuing to figure how to support myself as a painter). I am grateful to all of my blog readers, patrons, gallery owners, family, friends, and others who have supported my work and my life as a painter over the years. You have given me so much to think about and explore and your support has bought me this precious time. Thank you.

******

You can find my work at the following galleries and websites.

The Velvet Easel Gallery

Portobello, Edinburgh

Scotland

You can catch my work in the Of Night and Light Exhibition until the 1st of March 2020.

Dancing Light Gallery

Edinburgh

Scotland

You can catch my work in the Winter Warmth Exhibition until the 29th January 2020.

Fenix Gallery

Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA

Ask to see my available small works and limited edition prints

Small works shop: 

https://meganchapmanart.wixsite.com/shop

On all your favourite channels!

Web: www.meganchapman.com

IG: instagram.com/ethermaven

FB: facebook.com/megan.chapman.artist

Twitter: twitter.com/ethermaven

And of course, at my studio G23, located at 36 Dalmeny Street Leith, Edinburgh EH6 8RG, I will gladly open by appointment. 

Walls too crowded, budget tight? You can still support my work. Click the link to buy me a coffee. Consider becoming a monthly supporter for exclusive content. Thanks! Support Me on Ko-fi 

BOOKS: 1999/2019

BOOKS: Twenty Years Later 1999/2019  

My book series began in my last year of art school at the University of Oregon as I was my persuing my BFA in Painting and it became my terminal project exhibition for my graduation with honours. I already knew at this point that I was an abstract painter and that I had some hard feelings towards the “art establishment.” While I respected my peers in the program, I didn’t want to create the same large scale glossy paintings that they were doing at the time. I wanted to create something more intimate, meaningful, and honest from my work. I wanted to use common materials and somehow make art more accessible. I wanted the viewer to have an experience with the work.

I created my abstractions in found hardback books that I gathered one by one out of the free bin of a local bookstore. I selected the discarded and withdrawn books and their beautifully yellowed pages as they were now somehow without value. I sometimes tore them apart to showcase their skeletons and hidden features while I painted with oil bar, drew with colour pencils and graphite, and commandeered their stories making them into something new. I assumed personalities and told other people’s stories, while creating small abstractions within the taped, stitched, and bound pages. These books were rough, raw, and dirty though the concept and belief behind them were fully considered. These were meant to be read and handled like any other book. The story received was meant for the viewer alone and could be closed up and left for another. Each person handling the books became part of the story and the story became part of the viewer as they walked away. They had just touched modern art. They had just had it in the palm of their hands.

For my terminal exhibition at the University’s Laverne Krause Gallery, I set up a sofa, a woven rug, a coffee table, end tables, and chairs. Turning the gallery into a familiar setting, a place that invited you to sit and relax without having to say it. My books littered the coffee table overlapping, some open, some closed. No instructions, simply relying on human nature, curiosity, and comfort to encourage the viewer to experience the art, to turn the pages and be.

I have always had a problem with the exclusivity of art and sadly the idea by many that art requires specialist skills, knowledge or education to understand and appreciate it fully. For many, there is an imaginary barrier between themselves and art, especially when it comes to abstraction. All art requires is time and the willingness to see but before that can happen, it must be accessible. The guard of the viewer must be lowered, the defenses calmed and soothed to foster understanding. If I can put art into a format that is more easily understood and accessible then I can change people’s experience of art. If I can take something that might be seen as scary or intimidating on a gallery wall and put it in the hands of the viewer, they are now dominating the art, the art is no longer dominating them.

photo by Mairi Brown taken at Art Walk Porty

Most viewers will understand books even at their most basic level they will understand picture books. If I put modern art in books that they can touch and feel, smell, read, feel the weight of the work in the books, then I can get them to slow down and have an experience. The average time people spend looking at paintings on a wall in a museum or gallery is 17-27 seconds. That is not an experience. We have been trained that art is not to be touched. It is revered, fragile, valuable, untouchable. We view it with our hands jammed in our pockets, behind our back, behind a rope, behind a taped line, we do not gesticulate towards or talk loudly about it. The art becomes void. The art becomes detached from reality and it’s humanness. Some humans will also detach from it or never even attempt it. I find this thought deeply wounding.

Join me here again next week on my Friday Studio Blog for Part II of the written discussion of my books. Until then you can hear me speak about by books on this week's video visit. Thanks again to everyone who came to see my books art Art Walk Porty last weekend. It was a joy to meet you and share my passion for this work.

Thank you.