Lust for life

I am writing this blog from my studio. I have my big headphones on and I am still listening to this song on repeat after finally seeing Trainspotting 2 (T2) last Saturday night. I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it yet - and go ahead and make it a double feature if it's been a while since you saw the first one. 

I am having a Cherry Coke and I have already painted today. I worked back into two canvases I had started a while back (in the same colour palette) so that was a no-brainer - working back in is always easier than starting anew. 

This week flew by! I put my niece back on the airport bus at 3am last Saturday morning. We had a great time, I think especially last Friday when I met her after writing my blog - we went charity shopping, ate some amazing pizza, followed that with gelato and had a gorgeous wee walk. Sounds like a perfect day. 

This week I worked as usual and I think the series is really coming together. I am building two series at once with a bridge, light and dark - just like life. Right now the darker side is stronger and I am enjoying working with its palette of black, red, and ochre - also a bit of shocking yellow chalk pastel. As I have mentioned before I am trying to use what I have on hand in the studio and not buy more materials to create this body of work. I really love this palette. I have always loved red and have painted my fair share of paintings with it. When I was a little girl, I would say my favourite colour was rosy red. I see you little girl - we know our way around this colour.

Okay so about the art. Let me start with the latest pieces in the dark series. (there are 4 pieces in the light series too - but this week I just want to see the dark together. Here they all are, beginning with the most recent ones.

this one might get worked back into... 

I just want to eat the black with a spoon, perhaps served with a sweet rosy red sauce. 

It feels good to be working again - reclaiming this sacred space, alongside my studio mate and dear friend Aoife. We both dive into our respective worlds and then come up for air and a wee chat. I am so glad this works for us. I'm very protective of my practice and the energies around it. 

Currently painting feels like returning home after getting lost in some really dark woods. 

If you missed the Studio Video Visit you can see it again here: 

That's all I have for you this week. I hope you have a beautiful weekend - thanks for joining me for the Friday Studio Blog. 

Like what I share? Buy me a cuppa or some new red paint!

Thanks!

The Andromeda collection and Superman's ill-fitting belt

 

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

This is how we tell the story

Accidents happen.

Paint to paper, charcoal to hand, the lines are drawn.
We are on standby, so we wait and see.
The magic happens when you are not looking.
Their shapes now rearranged.
This is how we tell the story...

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

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

This is how we tell the story
mixed media on 200gsm acid-free paper
42x59.4cm/16.5x23.4"
©2020 Megan Chapman
£475

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

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

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

We took a wrong turn
mixed media on 200gsm acid-free paper
42x59.4cm/16.5x23.4"
©2020 Megan Chapman
£475

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

I let go

A whip-smart rage filled my heart but you wouldn't let it just burn. You said let's have a laugh and so we did. I followed your lead, I closed my eyes and screwed up my face. I let go. We danced and jumped and worked together in a fever. We made all our favourite mistakes. 

_______

Come see these paintings and others at my studio G23 at the Out of the Blue Drill Hall Saturday December 7th and December 14th from 11-5pm. located at 36 Dalmeny Street, Leith, Edinburgh.

Support me on Ko-Fi where you can find supporter-only content and more. Thank you.

Message from an unknown sender

I went to the studio on Monday and a new painting showed up; dark, veiled, and mysterious. Filled with broken rules, muddy colours, and no distinct vantage point. It came fast and strong, the title too. This was a message from an unknown sender. A message that I was very happy to receive. It unnerved and excited me and provided some sense of relief.

The start of a new series brings a type of fever and remembering back into the process of painting. I love having a framework, the foundation to work and play in. I need a reason. I don't paint because I don't know what else to do with my time or hands. Honestly, I spend a lot of my time resisting painting. Balancing that uncomfortable dangerous undercurrent, that anxiety that will finally push me to get back to the "serious" work (whatever that means). This week the "serious" work showed up again. The kind of work, I love the most.

Just as I love the colour white and most colours (really - look back at my earlier work), I also love black and darkness (again, look back at my earlier work and the "dark landscapes"). We were trained not to use black and white if you could ever use another colour. I like breaking rules. Muddy paintings are also considered bad form, and some of my earlier paintings are so clean and vibratory you'd think a machine painted them. But, I like a bit of mud, a dirty veil on the surface of the painting, a bit of dullness over the brighter colours below. Remember the shock after they cleaned the Sistine Chapel ceiling... I liked it before (and after). Think of all the reproductions we have come to love because we were looking at old, yellowed and dirty paintings before they were cleaned and restored.

Darker paintings might not work with your decor or match your sofa, they might not sell in galleries as easily as their colourful and "fun" fellow paintings (I know this to be true - why do you think I stopped with the dark landscapes). Darker paintings will, however,  thrill me and I think that is a very good reason to receive their message. So I call out to the darkness and crack open the studio door, I invite it in. The dark warmth envelopes, the other colours reach out from underneath, the veil lifts and welcomes us into the fold with mystery and yet something familiar we all recognise.

Until next week, keep fighting.

*************************************** 
Do you enjoy my blog, my video visits, the paintings I share, or the other content that I provide for free across social media? Consider buying me a cup of coffee in support of my work. I am a member of Ko-fi.com, A friendly way for creators to get paid! Thank you!

Finding my anchor

Revisiting a group of large paintings that I started in January. There are five of them, the beginnings of a series I left abandoned for the past 3 months. I am drawn to this one and think I will use it as the anchor for the series.

I am collecting information. I am researching and gathering raw materials in the form of cultural excavation. I am in the building phase, or really the rebuilding phase.

I am re-learning. I am reading, I am listening and I am watching.

I am reframing and looking back to move forward. Taking strength and power from those who have come before and finding support through their words and creations.

More on that later.

In the studio on Tuesday, I talked about a few milestones. My Tuesday Studio Video Visit turned two last month! This blog turned twelve and my "Books" series will be twenty at the end of this month. If you don't follow my art page on Facebook you can catch it again here. I am in the process of transferring my Tuesday Studio Video Visits to YouTube so that more people can access them and for a future project I have planned.

Okay back to later...

I am purposely filling my head with the ideas and cultural offerings of women. My head has already been filled by the ideas and work of men by default. I know what you are thinking, don't make me say some of my best friends are men...(they are). Of course, my head has been filled with many amazing offerings created by men and will continue to be, but at the same time, many of these offerings don't always reflect me and my life and nor perhaps should they. Their gaze is searching from and creating through a system that has been made for them. Hand built by them, for them, and how wonderful and empowering that must be, but perhaps also crippling at times. See how I have to keep softening everything I write as to not offend. I am so tired of doing that but I feel I must keep doing it to stay safe in this hand-built world, not of my design.

In art school, I was praised for painting like a man. I proudly took the "compliment" as I understood that it meant my work was strong, bold and good and not weak or easy. Sorry, sisters. I was deeply assimilated into the patriarchy to get along without even knowing.

As a teen, I liked to think I was "one of the guys" (not like the "other" girls). I could drink and smoke with the boys, sometimes teetering on the edge of dangerous explorations. I could curse a blue streak and smash it up with the rest of them. I would be upfront in the crush of the pit at gigs or right in front of the speakers (cause I thought I was tough and could take it), I would listen to the music you liked and I'd like it too (of course). When I saw Black Flag at the age of 14, I purposely picked out the Pettibon designed T-shirt that said "I've been good too long" and proudly wore it to Jr. High the next day. I never felt like I was a "good" girl/woman. In my youth, I was boy crazy as I looked to them for approval, adoration, and information. I wanted what they had; that strength, charisma, power, and mostly that freedom. What appeared on the surface, as a lack of fear.

I went through periods of my life where I messed up my female friendships to run after or just run with the boys. Or I just didn't give the girls and women in my life enough time or attention. Again, sorry sisters. Thankfully, as I grew up, I came to my senses and have many long-lasting, wonderful and true friendships with women all over the world. These women have been my teachers, mentors, confidants and fellow hell-raisers. These women have strength, charisma, power, and freedom too. Many of them had to learn to live with and triumph over their fears and rise above every day in this world that wasn't built for or by them. These women are revolutionaries, my heroines, and luckily my cohorts.

What does all of this have to do with my work? Every fucking thing.

We can't be what we can't see. Right now I am seeing women being brutally raw and honest. I am seeing women create masterpieces of art and literature, I am seeing the female gaze in the films they make, the roles they take and the songs they sing. I see the truth of my being reflected back. What the hell is a "good" woman anyway and why would I ever want to be one?

Until next week, keep fighting. 

New work and inspiration round up!

Thanks to everyone who read my year-end review blog and took the time to comment. I really appreciate everyone's coments and support. I will announce the winner of the small painting at the end of this post. 

This week has been spent mostly in the studio exploring the beginnings of what I think is a new series, currently there are five paintings on the go and that feels great. Some folks have commented that they are a bit different, a bit dark, or wild. I know where these paintings come from and don't worry they are firmly in my lineage of work. Some elements are from over twenty years ago and some elements are from last month and of course there is expansion and new growth. They are raw power. 

I have been listening to music such as L7, 7 Year Bitch, Bikini Kill, Julie Ruin and the like while working. Loaded brushes are flying and there is a wee bit more black than white this time around. The circular shapes sometimes representing conversations on the ether, relationships, or spirit energy, have returned - obscured, charred, and dark. We watch them rise. 

Besides working in the studio and walking for miles, I have had the good fortune of taking in some excellent exhibitions in Edinburgh. 

Andy Warhol and Eduardo Paolozzi | I want to be a machine.  This was a great exhibition, local favourite and Leither, Paolozzi, pairs well (and holds his own) with Warhol.  It was a much more comprehensive exhibition than I was expecting. Click on the title to watch short videos and to read more about the show from the National Gallery of Scotland's website. 

NOW | Monster Chetwynd, Henry Coombes, Moyna Flannigan, Betye Saar, Wael Shawky. This was a fine exhibition, the work of Moyna Flannigan was the stand out for me. Monster Chetwynd's work is of an impressive scale and does leave a mark as well. 

Turner in January. This exhibition is on every January, and it almost feels like you are a bad citizen if you miss it. I love Turner's work of course, but this is not the work I love, but it is his work and I go see it every year. 

Pin-Ups | Toulouse-Lautrec and the Art of Celebrity. This was my favourite exhibition of all the offerings I have seen this week (this week!!). Like Modigliani (as I have mentioned in previous posts), Lautrec feels like a bit of a family member. I grew up with his prints around the house, as one older brother was a big fan. This exhibition was comprehensive and well curated. The scale of the work truly caught me off guard, the faded colours and yellowed paper made my heart sing. The quality of his line was divine to see in the flesh and at scale. I loved it so much I really didn't want to leave. 

It was a wonderful week of making and seeing art. A great way to start the new year. I have also watched quite a few painting documentaries as well. Here's a round up of those films (all of which can be found on youtube). 

Robert Motherwell and the New York School, "Storming the Citadel." This documentary is superb. I take comfort in the words and wisdom of one of my favourites. 

The Rules Of Abstraction With Matthew Collings. Another winner of a film and far reaching into the history as well as the spiritual aspects of early abstraction.

Philip Guston, Odd Man Out. I have always admired Guston's work, especially his earlier stuff but now I respect him in a different way and love how he flew in the face of abstraction and risked it all. Great documentary. 

Jean Michel Basquiat Documentary. I am not sure what the actual title of this film as it was put on youtube from the BBC. I have seen several documentaries about Basquiat as I have been a fan for ages, but I had never seen this one. I really like this perspective of his carreer and hearing from different folks that walked through his short life. It was good to hear from his sisters. If you are a fan or want to be, or if you are interested in 80's New York Art/Music scene then this is a documentary for you. 

I hope these films inspire, educate, and encourage you in your own artistic path. Let's make 2019 the year we never stop learning, exploring and trying new things. Let's make it the year we find our power and enrich ourselves through this abundant culture. This is available for almost all of us (at least those with an internet connection and the desire- I understand many people are living in culture deserts - I grew up in one). Only one of the exhibitions I saw this week cost money and all these documentaries are on available online. What are you watching, seeing, reading? What (free and accessible) culture is in your backyard that you have been ignoring or taking for granted? Is there somewhere you feel you don't belong? Are you sure you don't? Go and find out! Remember that art, that beauty, it really is for you. And if someone tells you it isn't, keep looking and make your own!

With gratitude in my heart to yours, until next week, keep fighting. 

PS. The winner of the small painting is artist, Elaine Phipps!!! Congrats, Elaine! Message me your address and I will get this wee painting right out to you. You can check out Elaine Phipps work here.  Thanks again to everyone for your wonderful and thoughtful comments. Keep reading my blog and I'll have another give away in a few more months.

Back to work : for the tooth and the ease

Sold

I was happily back in the studio on Tuesday and I decided to work on paper. I am always drawn to paper for the tooth and the ease. There is something approachable about paper, it's not too precious yet it's surface offers many rewards. I set myself some modest goals, mostly just to return to my space regularly and to my routine. This wasn't about pressure or stress. Thanks to my low-key intentions, work dripped from my fingers each day. I sold the first piece to a new collector in America the day I painted it. What a joy! The sale helped to spur me on and filled me with hope for the new year. Thank you, lovely patron!

After completing three of these larger works, I sadly realized I was now out of the paper I was enjoying (must get more this weekend). However, necessity is the mother of invention (of course). After a bit of a studio rummage, I realized I had a lovely stack of small brown paper sacks in the cupboard and with that, The Sack Studies were born! I really enjoyed painting on the brown paper as it complimented my current minimal palette. I also like the jagged edges at the opening of the sacks. The words Tell Me Why Not came to mind and I decided to go for it. These are some of my favorite paper pieces to date. Below you can see all six and a few of my favorites up close.

Sold

The work feels good and I am having fun just going with the flow. I am feeling productive as I expand my work. I am also trying to be a bit more intentional and organized, taking note of what I am doing here and there and sharing my progress along the way. As I expand my work I also hope to expand my art community. My goal is to comment and share more of my fellow artist's work and have more meaningful interactions. If you are looking for community, you are welcome in the one I am building or perhaps I can join yours. Artists have to stick together and encourage one another, now more than ever. Until next week, know that you are not alone and the world needs your art. Please keep fighting and bringing your unique voice and eye to the table. Every day we paint is a victory.