Finding Centre

Finding centre

Mixed Media on Paper

30 x 30 cm

£175.00

The Dark Anchor (number one)

Mixed Media on Paper

30 x 30 cm

£175.00

The wind is an ocean

Mixed Media on Paper

30 x 30 cm

£175.00

Hello Dear Readers, 

There are now 21 pieces available in my special sale for Bicycles for Refugees. I am so thankful that 5 small works have sold in the £40-55 price range.

With the five small sales, we have been able to donate £95 to Bikes for Refugees to help rebuild a little of what was lost in their recent burglary. Thank you to my lovely patrons in Scotland, England, and the United States for your support.  

There are 9 pieces still available in this most affordable price (£40-55) range. There are 6 pieces available in the £175-195 price range with instalment/payment plans available. And finally, there are 6 pieces available in the £250-295 price range, also with payment plans available. 

These are all original pieces of art, not prints. They are all signed, dated, and titled on the back. All but 3 (see above works on paper) pieces are either mounted/matted and ready to pop into a standard 8x10" frame or professionally framed and ready to hang on the wall. Free shipping in the UK. For any other destinations, the buyer pays for shipping through a separate invoice. 

I want you to live with original art. I always offer a good portion of my work at these more affordable prices so that more folks have the opportunity to enjoy my original work. I have done this for over the past two decades and I have often used my art to raise funds for things I believe in and support. 

I know it has been tough all over coming out of/living through this extended pandemic, wars, political and economic uncertainty and the cost of living crisis. I know people are making hard choices right now. When you choose to support the arts and organisations such as Bikes for Refugees during times like these it highlights your values, your resilience, and your empathy.

Thank you. 

If you have any questions about the sale or pieces in the sale or perhaps even pieces not in the sale - just hit the message button next to any of the pieces and you can contact me. If you click the purchase button - it just sends me a notification that you are interested in purchasing the piece so that I can then send you an invoice and I can answer any questions then as well. 

Buying art doesn't need to be scary or awkward, it can be warm, easy, and meaningful. I am here to help with this. Until next week, stay warm and cosy - coorie in.

Link to my Special Sale. 40% donated to Bikes for Refugees: 

https://www.artworkarchive.com/rooms/megan-chapman/a6dccc

Donate to Bikes for Refugees Directly:

https://www.bikesforrefugees.scot/sponsors-donors

Time works differently now

Strong medicine (keep it close)
mixed media on 200gsm acid-free paper
42x59.4cm/16.5x23.4"
©2020 Megan Chapman
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After completing the thirteen new works in my latest series, I am delighted to share that one of them sold straight away to a patron in my hometown of Fayetteville, Arkansas. My hometown has stuck by me through thick and thin and near and far. I am grateful to have this base of support. Some of you might not have realised that Arkansas has a cultured coterie of abstract art buyers but it does and lovely warm people to boot! Consider yourself in the know, darling. 

In other news after that body of work was created - the lull came back, the dreaded ebb. Perhaps it's more of an overwhelm as I have so many paper pieces I need to varnish/fix and space is at a premium as I am still not working in my studio. 

I wonder when I ever will work regularly in my studio again. I wonder if I even need a studio. Is it sustainable in this new reality? I wonder how we are all going to survive. You know the big questions, as the title states time works differently now and our brains are all heavy with thought. 

I have been walking this month for Samaritans, doing a 50-mile charity challenge, but I will end up surpassing the challenge total. I have enjoyed getting outside in the available light as the weather gets more grey and dark by the minute. I look for the bright colours in the trees and the sun when I can find it. Some believe the walks influenced the 13 paintings. I have been told they feel hopeful and energetic. I am not sure what is pushing these works. I need to think about that. In art school, they said, "we don't care what you do and make as long as you can talk about it, as long as there is a reason." I need to get quiet and start thinking about my reasons again. The meaning, what am I trying to say, explore, express besides my intense love of colour, line, and pure abstraction? 

Perhaps we will figure this all out this winter. Stay tuned...

I know I have fallen behind/stopped making my Tuesday Studio Video Visits. I think because they would've all be filmed in my living room now and not my studio. There could be other reasons too. Perhaps we will figure this out this winter as well and start them up again. 

I'm thankful for all the patrons that have supported me during the pandemic when so much is so hard for so many. I won't forget it. I am going to be adding more exclusive content to my ko-fi page, a friendly way to support artists. Right now if you support my work for £3 or more you get a downloadable wallpaper and a patrons-only gallery with some downloadable images and well as behind the scenes looks and access to forgotten interviews. Consider supporting me over there, I promise to make that the place to be along with my social media sites. Thank you.

https://ko-fi.com/meganchapman

Thanks for your patience, please take good care of yourself. 

Money Talk: Studio Update

As many of you know, I have not been using my studio space since the second week of March. However, I have paid my studio rent in full for March, April, May, and June. Thankfully the Drill Hall management offered studio holders 1/2 off our studio rent for July, August, and September which I made use of. My studio rent at the drill hall is £203.69/month (and includes wifi). As of now, in October I will be paying the full amount of rent again. 

To enable me to pay the rent as I have during this time, I applied for and received £600 from the Bridging Bursary Fund offered through Creative Scotland (almost enough to cover 3 months of studio rent). I also applied to and was accepted for a commission to create a short studio video visit to represent and promote the Drill Hall along with my friend and fellow drill hall resident Mairi Brown for the Leith Late Virtual Studio and Mural Tours. This wonderful opportunity thankfully paid £200 - again, almost enough money for another month of studio rent. I have engaged in my own personal fundraising, raising another two months of studio rent on my Ko-fi site, a place where patrons can support artists. I am so thankful for all of this support and am delighted to have worked on something with Leith Late as I have wanted to for years now. 

I applied for and received both self-employment grants from the UK government and will apply for a third much lesser grant when it becomes available. During this time, I have been actively promoting the galleries that represent me, while also selling my art directly to my patrons online to sustain myself. During these strange days, I have been focussed on promoting more affordable originals as well as prints as I know most folks are being as frugal as possible just now. I participated briefly in the artist support pledge on Instagram as well. I scoured the internet for other funding sources and grants, applying for two grants that I sadly wasn't chosen for, and I also applied for an art tutor position that I also didn't get. So as you can see, I am taking action steps to stay afloat during this time as are many others. It's obviously quite competitive out there just now. 

I currently live about an hour's walk away from the studio or a 20-minute bus ride and the distance does, of course, hamper my ability to access my studio even when the building itself is now relatively safe with the new COVID measures in place. I have been in my studio once in July, once in August, and twice very briefly in September - as you can imagine paying for the studio and the wifi, while not using it, will eventually become unsustainable. I want to keep supporting the Drill Hall. I don't want to give up my studio and I also don't want to go into deferred debt (ie: a rent holiday which is another option the management has offered). I wrote the drill hall hoping that perhaps the half rent scheme could be extended or some other measures put into place while I and many others continue to work mostly from home solely as self-employed artists.

I appreciate that we are all struggling and I hope the Drill Hall has been the recipient of various government grants and other means of support as it is an asset to the community and one that I am proud to be a part of, long may it last.

I have been thinking about the future and other ways I can adapt even more with the ever-changing situation. After a productive spate of painting and drawing over 45 pieces from home since late March I haven't painted as regularly. The two main reasons for this are; firstly, the novelty of making smaller more controlled works in the corner of my living room is wearing off and secondly, with a good selection of paintings at a variety of prices, small works, and now prints, I need to sell some more work before I invest more money into making new work. This second reason and feeling will change because ultimately I make work to express myself and not only to make money. I have done well with this time and have expressed a lot and luckily sold a lot as well - which I am immensely grateful for. So more likely this is the classic ebb of the work and not me just digging in my heels. Regardless, I really do need to think of the viability of the studio in the future. 

Thank you to everyone who has bought a painting, small work, or print online, gotten in touch about a commission, or donated a cup of coffee, or sustained me through regular subscription donations. Thank you to the two patrons that bought refugee pieces during this time so I could donate money to a great cause and get two more bikes on the road. Thank you to a dear friend and patron who bought my ailing cat some prescription food and another dear friend and patron that helped to keep me in materials and regular donations during this time. Thank you to Jennifer and Tamsin my two monthly subscribers on Ko-fi. Those regular monthly amounts are extremely helpful! Thank you. 

All of you are keeping me afloat as well as the drill hall studio rent paid. And I know many of you are struggling too. 

I am thankful for you. I know I have been behind a bit in the blog lately and certainly in the Tuesday Studio Video Visits, but I plan to get back in the swing of things, so keep tuning in and watch this space! 

Anyway, again - I would rather write about the colour alizarin crimson or the tooth of the paper or canvas but sometimes, we just have to get real and talk about money...

Until next time, keep fighting! The world needs you and your art, your care, and the light you bring. 

https://ko-fi.com/meganchapman/shop 

get your prints and small originals here

https://ko-fi.com/meganchapman 

help support my work one cup of coffee at a time

Tell me how you really feel...

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Tell me how you really feel... *NEW*

These giclée prints are on heavyweight archival matte paper (220gsm/81lb) and will be signed on the front in pencil. The paper is A4 sized/21x29.7cm/8.3x11.7"

£25 (includes p&p in the U.K.)
Additional £5 for shipping to everywhere else.

Printed to order in Scotland by another woman-owned small art business, you can feel extra good about your purchase as you support not one but two artists.

While I am known for my abstract paintings, for the past three years I have explored another series, my "Accidental Portraits." These paintings have proven quite popular with collectors and now I am excited to be able to offer a selection of them as prints.

These statement pieces capture the collective feeling with a minimal palette and a strong line as we wade through the strange days of 2020 and beyond.

 What viewers are saying about the debut of my new print series, “Tell me how you really feel...”

“These are edgy cool and graphically stark, you do it so fucking well.”

“I like the mood, angles, and the honest and brutal mark making, they are severe in their grace!”

As always, I am continually looking for more affordable ways for you to be able to live with my art and for ways that you can help support the work I do. Thank you. Click the collect button under each piece to purchase or visit my shop. 

https://ko-fi.com/meganchapman/shop

Feel good and do good: Charity paintings

This series of original paintings are A4 sized - 21X29.7cm/8.3x11.7” mixed media on 280gsm/80oz primed canvas board. They are signed and dated on the back. Each piece is £135 with free shipping in the UK and with £10 additional postage to anywhere else in the world. 

£55 from the sale of each piece will be donated to the brilliant charity Bikes for Refugees Scotland and will put a bike in the hands of a New Scot.

It's a win-win when you purchase one of these original paintings. You are supporting me as an artist and you are supporting our New Scots refugees. Feel good and do good. Collect art. 

You can buy these charity pieces directly from my Ko-fi shop. Just click the collect link under each piece to be directed to my shop. Thank you. 

Collect

Collect

Collect

Collect

Collect

Collect

Collect

Back to work : for the tooth and the ease

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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.

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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. 

Talk about the passion

This week flew by in a blink but even with the pace, I think it was a rather lovely time. Autumn is definitely upon us and I am feeling like making a nest and preparing for darker days.

We had a lovely friend arrive on Wednesday morning for an overnight stay. It was wonderful to see our city through her eyes, as we showed her as much as we could in a short time. I feel exhausted yet also refreshed.

In preparation for her visit we tore the flat apart and gave it a good cleaning. We also decided to rearrange our art collection, frame some pieces that had been in storage, and generally give the flat a new feeling and look. It's amazing what one will do when guests are coming. I am so happy we rose to the occasion! The space feels good.

I am very passionate about making art but I am also a passionate collector when I am able. My Tuesday Studio Video Visit was about the aspect of being an artist and supporting art as well. I talk about not letting the idea about what is "Art" inhibit your collecting as well as overcoming other fears or obstacles that might get in your way. If you missed it on my facebook art page you can see it here.


In other exciting news, I will be participating in several upcoming group exhibitions here in Edinburgh and back home in the states. I happily have a lot of work on my plate. I will, of course, tell you all about it when the time comes. Thank you for reading my blog, watching my videos, and supporting my work as an artist. Thank you to all the artists out there making such gorgeous and searching work.

Now, I think it's time for sleeping. Until next week, keep fighting, keep reaching out, and keep connecting. The world needs you.

Money, art, and more onion hospital days

It's grey and overcast and the cobbles are wet. I have a cup of coffee and I am listening to this beautiful album to conjure up a mood. My headphones are on and a pad of paper is next to me with a pen. On the paper are social media stats and in my mind are the beginnings of yet another idea to bring my art to more people and also bring some money into my bank. Of course, I didn't want to write the sentence including the words money or bank. Like many other artists, I wonder why can't it just be about the art? Naive, I know.

I am continually reminded of this quote and I wish I wasn't.

“When bankers get together they talk about art. When artists get together, they talk about money.” -Oscar Wilde

I try my damndest to just talk about art, pretend I don't need money, don't want things, don't worry about "security." However, I need, want, and worry like everyone else.

So we will see if the ideas come to fruition from the pad of paper sitting beside me and if I can find that balance of making art and making money.

In other news, this week's Tuesday Studio Video Visit seemed to have struck a chord with folks, as it received 1,800 views! I talked about intuition, imagination and the importance of play. If you missed it on my facebook art page you can see it again here. Thanks to everyone who viewed the video and commented on it on facebook, it feels good when we can connect this way.

You can see in the video that I worked on another canvas this week and made some "spirit bundles." I mostly took it easy as I nursed a trapezius injury which frustratingly kept me away from painting. I love getting to that point in my life where I can injure myself in my sleep.

So, that's all I have for you this week. I wish you more onion hospital days. Keep fighting. Keep playing.

Time moves swiftly...

blue spark
mixed media on paper 6x4"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
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the connection
mixed media on paper 6x4"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
Sold

I am happy to report that all the miniature flashcard series works that I posted last week on my blog have now sold! I made two more flashcards at the beginning of the week. I have posted them above for your enjoyment, one of them has sold already as well. I plan to create many more in this series. I like the miniature scale, the format of the work, and the spontaneity.

In other news, we had a wonderful first Thursday at the Fayetteville Underground last night. I sold two canvas paintings, Implosion and Behind the Whispers, from my last color series that I created at the end of 2009 before I switched over to the White Series. I know these paintings went to the perfect home as well, which is just such a wonderful feeling. I also sold another Map of the Night, as well as three of the miniature flashcards. It is always a thrill when my work finds a home in the world. The moment someone chooses my work for their home or office is such an amazing feeling, like nothing else I have ever experienced. I still jump up and down as giddy as a school girl with each sale, I hope I never lose this.

Again, it must be said that every purchase of my art no matter how small or great impacts me the same way, it helps me live and work as an artist. It keeps me on the path, it encourages me and gives me validation that I am on the right track. I am grateful to all of my patrons over the years, your numbers are adding up and you are spread all over the world. I hope you will continue to enjoy your paintings of mine for many years to come. Thank you all.

Next week more flash cards; at least eight new ones and that is a promise!

the light on the edge, where anything is possible
© 2011 Megan Chapman

P.S. I love making, marketing, and talking about art as much as the next person (no, I probably love it just a tiny bit more...) but don't forget to get outside, soak up the spring sun, smell the lilacs, listen to songs drifting from open windows, rest in the grass and live.