Here we go again...

The weeks are flying by and here it is another Friday and another studio blog. Hm.. What have I been up to this week in the studio? I have been finishing up the commission. I have been thinking, and looking at my art. I have been organizing and promoting events for the underground studios where I work and I have been having meetings. Today I talked to some young children on a tour of our studios.

So, sadly there has not been too much time for paintings or for letting concepts jell for my future work. What have I been doing outside of the studio? I have been in the park early in the morning to watch the sun cast shadows across the fields, I have been walking through daffodils and smelling the Spring in the air. I have been waking up with the moon glow in my room. I have spent quality time with friends and family. I have talked about art and looked at art. I have taken photographs, I have thought things through.

Does this all translate into art eventually? Yes, it does. Will it soon? I don't know. Do I want it to? Um, yes... I am looking forward to painting again, but I can't force it. This is just one of those lulls I struggle through at times. Suddenly the veil will lift, I will remember and I will get caught up in a new series and run with it.

If you keep fighting, I will too. Until next week...

The things I thought I heard...

I promised you new work and I really try to keep my promises, but I can't offer you a finished piece or even a work in progress. Perhaps you will accept a concept instead?

This week has been rough, with a lot of old ideas resurfacing about myself and how I fit (or don't) into this world. A lot of self doubt kept me preoccupied, corroding my confidence. Old habits and defense mechanisms were deployed to remedy these negative feelings with limited success.

Art has always helped bolster my confidence and has given me a place to belong when I felt that I didn't belong anywhere else. So, I thought perhaps it was indeed time to explore some of these feelings in my art. I don't often use my art in this manner. My usual goal is to create work that people, including myself can escape into rather than using my work to dwell on a certain emotion or issue. I say my usual goal, I do understand that my work is emotional in nature whether through use of colors, text, or titles. However, my work usually only hints at what I am trying to explore. My work is often dreamy and perhaps intentionally vague not only so that the audience can bring themselves into the work more easily but also as a protective mechanism for myself. I hold back from this more personal and clearly emotionally charged art because I fear this type of work is often heavy handed, juvenile, and perhaps even a bit selfish or self absorbed. At the same time, art is about expression and freedom and is a good place to challenge these perceptions.

The concept that came to me this week was in the form of a simple sentence, "The things I thought I heard that helped make me..." The idea being that people in our lives say things to us all the time but what we hear and internalize can be completely different than what was actually said, yet we take and carry this perception of their words with us forever. Also the element of self doubt is expressed in this statement with the word "thought." We can not be sure, did they say that and mean this? Did they mean this and say that? Did our emotions in the moment color an innocuous word and turn it into a poison that will now be our undoing? Imagine all these instances adding up over a life time, the things that children think they hear, but can't be sure of, changing them forever. This repeats throughout our life, the things we think we hear create us and make us who we are today. These half truths, these confused words give us our identities, our language, our issues and change the way we relate in the world and to each other.

So, these are the ideas that have dominated my art brain this week, I have begun exploring it with photography but I hope to move through the concept with paintings and drawings as well. We will see, I have no idea if this is just a passing concept that will burn out quickly or if it has room to grow and be explored into a new series. I will have to see how I feel once I get into it.

Until next week, keep fighting...

The best part...

As many of my regular blog readers know, I am a member of The Fayetteville Underground, which is a group of four galleries and fifteen working artist's studios. The first Thursday of every month we debut our new exhibitions and have our studios open from 5-8pm. It is a wonderful night of art, community and fun. I love getting to interact with so many people coming into The Underground on this one night each month. I pretty much smile and talk the entire night. We have been having First Thursday since April of 2009, and I must say I feel so much more connected with the community at large because of it. I enjoy recognizing the regulars and becoming friends with many new people each month as well.

Every now and then, there is a conversation or an interaction at one of these events that really sticks with me and fills me with such hope and enthusiasm. My job as an artist is of course about making the art, but then it is about sharing the work with others and receiving feedback; it is about connecting and creating relationships. I am very fortunate to have met so many wonderful people because of my art.

Last night, I met a lovely couple who came into my studio. They are both artists and they were really taken with my work. The wife of the couple seemed almost giddy with excitement to be viewing my work and talking with me about it. I can still see her smile plainly in my mind. I told them about myself and my work and they told me about themselves as well. About how they had spent some time in Arizona where they discovered so much art that they found exciting and how thrilled they were to discover The Underground and especially my work. They seemed truly moved by the whole experience, almost as if the whole world had opened up for them in Arizona and it was continuing to expand as they looked at more and more art. They seemed to really understand my work on an intuitive level and very appreciative of having discovered it. I can't tell you how this feels exactly, but it is a beautiful moment, almost an out of body experience.
Their smiles and words of encouragement and understanding will stay with me forever.

These conversations we have with each other about art, they are so powerful. Sometimes they can be the reason the artist works the next day and continues on this uneasy path. Thank you to all the people who have supported me over the years with your words, connections and sharing. It is a wonderful gift you give me.

Next week, I will be sharing some new work and that is a promise!
Until then, keep fighting and remember every day we paint is a victory.

After The Maps: What's next...

They found their quiet under one of many clouds
mixed media on paper 24x 36"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
$100

She would remember for him, he would forget for her
mixed media on paper 24x 36"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
$100

If you have been following my blog you know about the Maps of the Night. There are only three maps of the night left, and of course I am beyond thrilled with the response to my latest series. It was such an exciting and exhilarating project to work on. There is something about creating art quickly and moving through something personal in real time with the art that is an unparalleled experience. That is what the maps were for me.

For those that purchased a map or two thank you from the bottom of my heart, I hope they bring you all the enjoyment that they gave me while creating them. They have now all been shipped to their destinations or picked up locally. Please know that your purchase keeps me fed, housed, happy and able to make more art. It also inspires and encourages me, so please know that you are appreciated and never underestimate the value of supporting an artist.

I feel the maps are now complete. I set out to create twenty and I did. I was so pleased with the results. So now what? Well, on to the next series of course! Do I know what that series is? Not exactly, but it is showing itself to me in fits and starts- I am thinking it will continue on paper, still mostly a monochromatic palette and there may still be some words mixed in the paintings. I think the scale may change, either getting quite large or perhaps small. I don't have an exhibition booked until next September so I have plenty of time to play with it and explore and that is exactly what I intend to do. I am lucky to have this time. I am tempted to paint a few more white series/falling into sound type paintings on canvas too, but not quite yet. Paper is really calling me right now. I have always loved working on paper, it feels like home but at the same time it has such strong individual qualities, so different from canvas that it provides me a challenge that I enjoy. I will keep thinking about the next series and I will keep you posted on any developments in the studio.

In other news, I have been slowly re-reading the book Art & Fear: Observations On The Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking by David Bayles and Ted Orland with fellow artist and friend Stewart Bremner. It has been good to read these words and think about them with another artist. It has also been interesting for me to read them coming from a different perspective than the first time I read the book, when I was just starting to get serious about my art career. If you are a working artist or just starting out, I would recommend reading a book about being an artist every now and then. So many of the obstacles, fears, and even the exciting highs have been written about and explored so well already. It is reassuring to know that there are other people out there that have figured out parts of the puzzle to being an artist. We don't have to do this alone, and we don't have to reinvent the wheel. I would really recommend reading these sorts of books if you are an artist that feels isolated or lack support from family, friends, or the public. I don't read these sorts of books like I used to because really the key is just to work, but every now and then they are a tonic of sorts.

Well, that is all the news fit to print... I have to get to my studio and finish up a commission and think more about my next series. Until next week, you know what to do...

it all points to an expertly crafted myth
mixed media on paper 24x 36"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
$100

The last three remaining maps are pictured in today's blog post, please email me if you are interested in these works for your collection. megancha@gmail.com. Click on the images to see them larger.

Maps of the Night: The Final Six

They have surrendered into this ocean

mixed media on paper 24x 36"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
Sold

I am very excited to share the latest six works from my Maps of the Night series. These works are about me, my life and my current story but I hope you will find yourself within them as well. It has been an exciting time in the studio as I have worked on this twenty-piece series. The Maps of the Night were just the thing I needed to refuel after my Falling into Sound exhibition this past November that featured my white series paintings and the Manual for Living. The Maps of the Night are a continuation of the larger white series but at the same time a departure or expansion.

As I have mentioned before, these works are mixed media on paper and are 24x 36" with approximately a 1.5" border on all sides of the painting. The edges of the paintings are not kept pristine and one can see some of the process left behind in the inky stains and drips.

I believe in the power of original art and I am glad to offer these affordable, original works to collectors at just $100.00. If you are interested in a particular piece for your collection please email me at megancha@gmail.com with the name of the piece and I can send you a paypal invoice or information on how to make a payment or reserve the painting for pick up and payment through the Fayetteville Underground if you are local. I love shipping nationally and internationally, and these works can be safely shipped in a mailing tube to your location.

I have been happily overwhelmed by the response of collectors to this series, and there are currently only three remaining maps available for sale, with several of the works finding good homes in Canada, the U.K., as well as in the States.

Thank you again for your support and interest in the Maps of the Night. If you have any questions about these works, please don't hesitate to email and ask.

click on the paintings to see them larger

She would remember for him, he would forget for her
mixed media on paper 24x 36"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
$100

They took turns peeling back the layers
mixed media on paper 24x 36"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
Sold

She dreamed his secret language, the one he was afraid to speak
mixed media on paper 24x 36"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
Sold

Their words intertwined across time, like roots, like vines
mixed media on paper 24x 36"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
Sold

They found their quiet under one of many clouds
mixed media on paper 24x 36"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
$100

PS. This map from the original fourteen is still available as well.

it all points to an expertly crafted myth
mixed media on paper 24x 36"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
$100

Until next week...

We return to work

it all points to an expertly crafted myth
mixed media on paper 24x 36"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
$100.00

We've had a major snow storm here, so my studio time has been cut short again this week although I managed to create four more Maps of the Night that I hope to share with you soon. I am a bit bothered by not being able to work in the studio as much as I would like, but I know that this is a time for ideas to germinate and new ones to surface. It is a time for remembering and examination.

I have spent this time looking at art, talking about art, and thinking about the way an artist's brain works. Thinking about why we do this and why we continue to create in the face of so many obstacles. Do we create for ourselves, for others, an imagined audience? Are we playing a part, the role of artist? What does it all mean and what is the point? These certainly aren't new concerns, and I think many have wrestled with all of these at some point and will continue to do so throughout their working lives.

Everything we do as artists is preparing us for the next thing. We are constantly in motion, trying, failing, reinventing and trying again and in that process we find our voices. This is not a neat and tidy process, and over a life time if we are lucky we'll find many voices, explore many themes and directions in our work. We just keep showing up, we just keep working, we just keep fighting.

When I look at an artist's works, I like to be reminded of the human behind the work, the brain behind the art, with all the stops, starts and awkward sputters in between. I like to see the variations in the themes that the artist explores over time. They might be known for one particular body of work, but there are hundreds of other paintings in the past that had to come before their voice solidified, before the work that put them on the map was created. These are the works that are lesser known, or perhaps the works that the artist never lets us see.

I guess I am writing this today because I know there are many artists that continually struggle with their work, their unsold paintings, their gallery rejections, and the dismissal of their work by family and friends. Sadly, this is part of the job description, simply a part of the process. You can let this crush your spirit and rob you and the world of your art or you can channel it into your work and rise above. I believe so strongly in the power of art and I know it is worth fighting for. There are countless bad and unsold paintings in my past, rejection slips, awkward comments by well meaning friends and the not so well meaning. I do not have impenetrable skin, it always hurts and it always derails me for a bit, and then I know I have a choice. My choice is to return to work. I hope that will always be your choice too, because the world needs your art.

Perhaps you'd like a soundtrack for your fight.

Maps of the Night: Three Remain

the words in progress for the maps of the night series

The Maps of the Night went on sale online last Friday sight unseen. They were still drying on the floor of my studio but now only three remain. I am overwhelmed and thrilled with the response the maps of the night received.

The response was not something I was expecting, but it was something I was hoping for. I love these maps. What started as a way for me to break through a painting block, became something important and inspiring to me and to viewers and collectors as well. I am thankful for your support of my work, never underestimate your importance in my life. You encourage me with your comments and you help me stay on this path with your patronage. You put the tea in my cup in the morning, the music in my ears that fuels the paintings, you keep the heat on and allow me to keep working. Thank you.

I want to thank my friend, fellow artist and studio mate Jennifer Libby Fay for the paper that the maps were made on and I must thank my friend, fellow artist, and studio mate Don House for documenting the maps so expertly and quickly. Last by not least I want to thank my dear friend and fellow artist Stewart Bremner for talking with me about my ideas for this series of works, for listening to me, and for inspiring the series. Art is rarely made alone and I am very fortunate and grateful for all the support I have always had in my life for the art that I make.

There will be six more maps in the series, one is already in progress on my studio wall waiting for me. We have had a snow storm so the maps of the night are currently in a holding pattern but I can not wait to return to them. I will be shipping out all the current maps of the night next week to their new homes or making arrangements for their pickup at the Fayetteville Underground if you are local.

I will leave you with the three remaining, Maps of the Night. Please email me at megancha@gmail.com if you are interested in purchasing one of these available maps.

Click on the paintings to see them larger.

there is a line that runs between them under the ocean
mixed media on paper 24x 36"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
Sold

they jumped the gap and slept in the shadows
mixed media on paper 24x 36"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
Sold

it all points to an expertly crafted myth
mixed media on paper 24x 36"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
$100.00

If you want to see the first fourteen all together again go here.
Stay tuned for the next six.

Oh and this song is soon to be on repeat in my ears in the studio...