The magic is in the schedule and in the practice

Small works framed for The Velvet Easel Gallery exhibition: "Off the Wall"
Happily, the two on the right sold on opening day. 

Dear Readers, 

I don't seem to have much to say about painting right now and I find that very frustrating. My studio blog is an important part of my process. It is a practice that I value right along with my painting. They work in concert together. My painting spurs on my writing, and my thoughts, words, and daily life spur on my painting. They each help me understand my motivations and why I paint. Sometimes, it's a simple reportage post of what happened one week in the studio, sometimes it's a love letter to the process, and sometimes it's just photographs of the work. The point is, whatever my blog is, I show up each Friday (well, usually). 

The magic is in the schedule and in the practice. This important practice has been hard for me lately. So here's to checking in, acknowledging the importance of the process, and stating my intention to get back into it. That's really all I can do. It doesn't help that I have had three viruses in the past 6 weeks. Perhaps this is a sign to slow down and nurture myself, to breathe in and breathe out and just be. There is an ebb and flow to nature and right now I am in the ebb. Looking forward to sharing the flow again with you one day soon. 

Thanks to all of you that check in here, your support and interest are also part of the process and part of my community that I hold dear. I plan to "catch up" later this weekend.

To quote Thich Nhat Hanh, "Darling, I care about the suffering."

Off The Wall

I am delighted to be participating in the "Off The Wall" exhibition at The Velvet Easel Gallery in Portobello. I will be showing three small works on canvas for the exhibition that opens tomorrow! 

I did something I never do, I had my work professionally framed! Usually, I paint on thicker canvas so that I can avoid framing them but these works on are a thin profile canvas and I wanted to see how they would look framed. I must say I was beyond pleased. Leith Framing Studio did a spectacular job on short notice. I would highly recommend them!

Until next week, you know what to do! The world needs you and your art!

Work with me!

If you need an art mentor, someone to hold you accountable, or just someone to give you permission and point you towards the right resources in a supportive and non-judgemental way, I can help. Let's explore, demystify, and grow your art practice! 

Visit my mentoring website: https://meganchapmanart.wixsite.com/mentor

Until next week keep fighting!

Commissions and Open Studios.

As ever, I am grateful to Paper and White for the opportunity to work with them on this exciting project. These four commissions were based on four separate series and pieces spanning a decade of my career. A unique challenge that I truly enjoyed. 

You can see a close detail of a few the pieces right before I had finished them all off in my most recent Tuesday Studio Video Visit. I hope you enjoy this calm moment of inquiry before I made finishing touches and packed them away for the courier. 



I will soon take a little time off to regroup but before then, I will have Open Studios and two group exhibitions to prepare for.

I hope you will join me on Sunday, February 24th from 12-5 for the Makers Marque and Open Studio event at the Out of the Blue Drill Hall, 36 Dalmeny Street, Leith, Edinburgh. I will have my studio G23 open, so please come and say hello!

Thank you all for your encouragement and support of my work and for your patience while I have been working on this latest project. Until next week, keep fighting. 

Faith

Getting close to completion on these four commissions. These paintings are based on work from four different series of mine spanning over ten years. I am honoured and grateful to be working on this exciting project with Paper+White, award-winning interior design and art specialists with studios in London's East End and Cambridgeshire.

Days spent doubting I am a painter are wasted days but they will happen again for me and for you. As natural as breathing, the doubt and eventually the painting. This is no ordinary calling but this is what I call myself. My strength, my power, my constant companion, each painting a construction, building a more resilient foundation. A bridge between us, strangers no more.

Working and refilling the well

commission in progress

This week was spent in the studio working on the four commissions for Paper + White. You can learn a bit more about that on my Tuesday Studio Video Visit. I explain that I am painting four new paintings based on four different series of works spanning about ten years. It's a fun and interesting challenge.


My studio is a hive of activity. I am also taking some time to enjoy the sun when it shines, get out for walks, as always practice my yoga and meditation but also enjoy some films, books, music, and friends. It's this balance that allows me to do the work I need to do. 

brushes and charcoal

This wonderful book just arrived today, and once the commissions are complete, I look forward to diving in. Here's to all the women who came before me and paved the way so that I can live the life I lead. I am grateful.

Ninth Street Women by Mary Gabriel

Until next week, do no harm but take no shit and keep fighting.

Lights, Camera, ART!

Academy Award Winner, Mahershala Ali and my art! True Detective, Season 3 Episode 4

In super exciting news, my art was on the television in the US (HBO) and in the UK (Sky Atlantic)! I was beyond thrilled to spy my art on True Detective, Season 3, Episode 4, “The Hour and the Day” with Academy Award Winner Mahershala Ali! As some of you may remember, HBO bought three of my pieces for the show from Fenix Gallery when they were in my hometown of Fayetteville, Arkansas while filming the programme. I was so engrossed in the show that I almost forgot I was supposed to be looking for my art as I watched. What a wonderful moment! 

In other brilliant news, I am grateful to be working on four new commissions for London and Cambridgeshire based Paper + White, Interior Design and Art Specialists. It's a joy to work with them again on this latest project. As you may recall, I worked with them recently this past December. This will be the 11th painting I have sent their way since October. These relationships built through art, mutual appreciation, and respect are incredibly rewarding and help me to stay on the path. The work that Paper + White does is impeccable and I am truly honoured to have my work incorporated into their designs and the beautiful homes and spaces of their clients. 

Last but not least, I am pleased to say I recently joined the Scottish Artists Union. I am honoured to be a member of this union that fights for art and artists in Scotland. It feels good to belong to an organisation that fights for what I work so hard for and for what I believe in. After I paid my dues, I even bought a t-shirt to show my union pride. 

Thanks for your support, excitement, and love as I walk this path. Please keep fighting. The world needs you.