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!

Outside + In. Don't miss it!

Outside + In

An exhibition of artists and makers from the Out of the Blue Drill Hall community is on for two more days. If you are local to Edinburgh or are passing through, don't miss the exhibition on display from 10am-5pm. this Friday (19th) and Saturday (20th). 36 Dalmeny Street, EH6 8RG.

There are 16 artists currently participating in this group exhibition and there is a range of pieces available to purchase and enjoy, from drawings, riso prints, reproductions, abstract and realist paintings, collage, textiles, felted work, as well as mixed media paintings on slates, photography, and gorgeous jewellery. Truly something for everyone at a multitude of price points.

The exhibition reception on Wednesday was well attended and was busy from the moment the doors were open from 5:30 through to 7:30. It made our hearts sing to have the work in the space and appreciated by so many enthusiastic community members. 

We hope that opportunities for the artists within the hall will become a more regular occurrence. If you feel the same way please let the management know. It boosts morale within the building and that spills out into the community at large. Creativity is contagious and community joy is strong medicine!

Please, if you are able, do make a plan to catch the exhibition before Saturday at 5pm. 

Thanks to everyone who has come already to view the exhibition and who came out in support of the artists of the hall on Wednesday night. It was wonderful to see you. 

Edinburgh City Councillor Susan Rae and I discussing my painting, "What it's Worth."

Follow these artists on Instagram if you don't already!

@hamillustration
@bethanyillustration
@mairimacsweendesigns
@timbremnerart
@catherinegiselleart
@megan.chapman.artist
@jesscrisp1
@cam_life_designs
@preciousmetalsworkshop
@mandmcgrattan
@twincitypictures
@aoife_in_leith
@mapplyco
@felicityinkpen
@danmurrayartist

Thanks so much for reading the Friday Studio Blog. Until next week, take care and keep fighting. The world needs you and the gifts you bring.

Divinations, declarations, and whispers

Divinations, declarations, and whispers
mixed media on unstretched canvas
160x106cm/62.9x41.7"
Megan Chapman  

I spent the rest of last weekend making the seals for the bottom of the painting. Each one is hand stamped and painted. This week I went into the studio to apply them along the bottom of the piece. I also added any glue that was needed on the collage bits and did colour matching where the tape had been holding the canvas up against the painting wall. After that, I spray varnished the painting to protect and seal all the mixed media elements. You can watch the Tuesday Studio Video Visit below for a more in-depth discussion about this if you missed it on social media.

  

Today, I went back into the studio to check the varnish and give the piece a last once over to make sure the charcoal was properly sealed. I also wanted to go over it again with another coat of matte finish varnish. I recorded a couple of quick supplemental videos today that you can see here.

  .

And here

   

After I decided that I was pleased with the varnish and that everything else was in order, I decided to take the painting for a walk through the studio and take a couple of photos of it temporarily installed to get a better sense of it out in the world along with a few detail shots below. 

Thank you again to everyone who has been so interested and enthusiastic about this latest painting. It has been fun sharing this piece and the experience of creating it with you. 

Studio Sale! Come and get it!

Darkness comes in stages

Mixed Media on Canvas

30 x 122 x 4 cm

(11.81 x 48.03 x 1.57 in)

Sold

Megan Chapman

Hiding in plain sight

Mixed Media on Canvas

41 x 51 x 4 cm

(16.14 x 20.08 x 1.57 in)

£325.00

Megan Chapman

Time spent as someone else

Mixed Media on Canvas

41 x 51 x 4 cm

(16.14 x 20.08 x 1.57 in)

£325.00

Megan Chapman

Stolen moments

Mixed Media on Canvas

41 x 51 x 4 cm

(16.14 x 20.08 x 1.57 in)

£325.00

Megan Chapman

All the ways you taught me

Mixed Media on Canvas

76 x 51 x 4 cm

(29.92 x 20.08 x 1.57 in)

£550.00

Megan Chapman

I follow the new

Mixed Media on Canvas

51 x 76 x 4 cm

(20.08 x 29.92 x 1.57 in)

£550.00

Megan Chapman

It's time for my 2nd annual "Come and get it" Studio Sale!

I am offering a selection of my larger canvas works at a deep discount (50% off). The only catch is that you must come to my studio in Leith or send someone over to pick them up on your behalf.

I happily offer 3 monthly instalment plans for all of these works. This is a great way for you to budget for art and own one of my larger pieces for your collection. Just message me to set this up - when you hit the "purchase" button it will give you a field to message me - it will not instantly sell you the piece - so click that button with confidence).

All of these paintings are on deep edge canvas with the edges painted either black or grey for a finished look and are ready to hang on your wall. Thank you for supporting my work. Please feel free to share. Email me with any questions. (megancha@gmail.com)
- Megan

Click here to visit the studio sale site. 

Bio:
Megan Chapman is an internationally collected abstract painter living in Edinburgh, Scotland. She shares her art and process in her Tuesday Studio Video Visits and her Friday Studio Blog. Building community around art is an essential and joyful part of her process. “Give me a charcoal line and I will show you my heart’s story. Pair that line with paint and I will show you my life.”

meganchapman.com

Visit this week's Tuesday Studio Video Visit here. Thanks for stopping by and for your support. Please share my studio sale link with any of your Edinburgh area friends. Until next week, be well and keep fighting! 

The story continues...

If you stopped by here last week you will recall that I shared the first eight paintings of a new series. This week, I am sharing five more new works in that same series. I am especially excited by these works, my palms were actually sweating as I was organising the photos of the painting. I might have even hollered! This is a rare and special feeling and I aim to hold on to it for a while. Without further ado here are the newest paintings from my latest series, "This is how we tell the story..."

Could I tell you anything more
mixed media on 200gsm acid-free paper
42x59.4cm/16.5x23.4"
©2020 Megan Chapman
£475

Under the surface
mixed media on 200gsm acid-free paper
42x59.4cm/16.5x23.4"
©2020 Megan Chapman
£475

Strong medicine (keep it close)
mixed media on 200gsm acid-free paper
42x59.4cm/16.5x23.4"
©2020 Megan Chapman
Sold

The maps have changed
mixed media on 200gsm acid-free paper
42x59.4cm/16.5x23.4"
©2020 Megan Chapman
£475

False dynasties
mixed media on 200gsm acid-free paper
42x59.4cm/16.5x23.4"
©2020 Megan Chapman
£475