Polar Bear

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"Polar Bear"
Collage on panel
10"x10"

This is one of the few collages I've done on panel. "Polar Bear" was actually created specifically for a fundraiser art show - "March ARTreach" - which will be up at the Target Gallery from March 3rd - 18th, 2012. I wanted to make something that was somewhat simple and featured an animal. What can I say? I'm in an animal phase.

Anyway, the exhibit features several works of art made on 10"x10" wood panels that the gallery provided. Every work of art on display is for sale for $150 ($100 during the Art Party on March 16th). All proceeds from sales will benefit the Target Gallery's 2012 outreach programming and the March of Dimes.

I'm looking forward to seeing what the other artists did with their 10"x10" panels!

And I hope everyone had a happy Leap Day!

Fine Dining for Pandas

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"Fine Dining for Pandas"
Collage on paper
18"x24"

This was inspired by the two giant pandas at the National Zoo. It seems like every time I pay a visit, they're always busy chowing down. I suppose it takes a lot of work to maintain their panda figures.

Artist Talk for "A Palette of Paper"

Yesterday I had my artist talk at the Center for the Arts, Caton Merchant Family Gallery for the solo show "A Palette of Paper." I thought I'd share a few photos from the event (thanks to my photographer Ben!).

The gallery is inside an old candy factory, so it has a really unique look and feel.

At the front of the art center, there's information about the old candy factory that used to be in business there. Here's an image that shows the different shapes of the candy.

Right when you walk inside the building, the first thing you see are the glass doors to the art gallery. Here I am giving my artist talk.

And here's another angle of the talk. It's a pretty spacious gallery - and definitely one of the best venues where I've shown my work.

After a long day of mingling, I decided pose like the monkey in my "Orange Monkey" collage.

Anyway, thanks to all the folks who were able to make it out to the Manassas talk! It was a fun day!

Progress Picture #1: Fine Dining for Pandas

Because who doesn't love pandas?

Here's the sketch for yet another animal collage. So far I've completed a few new 18"x24" animal collages. I realized that the vast majority of my larger sized collages were just people portraits, and so I've decided to change things up to make sure all my subject matter is covered in all the different sizes I work in.

Anyway, I'm off to do some more late-night art-making!

Cuddling Meerkats

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"Cuddling Meerkats"

Collage on paper

18"x24"

Here's the finished collage - I decided to make the background dark to make the meerkats look a little more dramatic or at least stand out more. They turned into quite the characters - perhaps my next children's book should star a meerkat...

And while I'm on the topic of meerkats - I got an early Valentine's Day gift from Ben. He knows that meerkats are one of my favorite animals, so he donated money to the National Zoo to their meerkat exhibit. And by "adopting a species" for me, I received a couple of stuffed animal meerkats as well as a few other treats in the mail:

Anyway, I hope everyone has a lovely week. It's beginning to finally feel like winter around here.

"A Palette of Paper" Preview

My solo show, "A Palette of Paper," went up yesterday. I didn't have an opening reception for this one, but I'm going to have an artist talk a week from this Saturday. It's been a while since my last talk - we shall see how this one goes!

The gallery director was kind enough to send a few pictures of the installed exhibit (I have yet to see it in person!). The space is gorgeous - I love the wood floors and the lighting, and it's wonderful how the artist's name gets printed across the gallery's glass door.

The folks at the gallery installed the show for me, which makes things a lot easier on my end. Sometimes it can take hours and hours for me to install a show. You'd think at this point I'd be a pro at it - but alas, no. Every show seems to have a different way of displaying my work - nail in the wall, hooks that attach to the molding at the top of the walls, etc.

Anyway, I like what they did with the place. And I'm looking forward to seeing everything when I stop by for my artist talk.

Progress Picture #1: Cuddling Meerkats

The sketch for my next animal piece - this collage is inspired by yet another trip to the National Zoo. This time I couldn't get over how adorable the meerkats were - they looked like they were cuddling in one big pile of four/five critters.

A Palette of Paper (Solo Show)

Front view

Back view

So my upcoming solo show is just around the corner! "A Palette of Paper" will be on display at the Center for the Arts, Caton Merchant Family Gallery in Manassas, VA. The art gallery is beautiful - and the art center is in a building that used to be an old candy factory. I can't wait to take pictures of the installed exhibit and share them. There will be around thirty collages that will include portraits, animals, cityscapes, and landscapes.

I'm delivering the work to the gallery in the next couple of days. The show will go up on February 8th and will run until March 22nd. I'm giving an artist talk on February 18th.


Here's the gallery's description of the show:

If you can imagine how scissors plying through everyday magazines can give an outcome of surprising and masterful art, then you might imagine the incredible collages of Megan Coyle. Working in classic art genres, Megan breaks down her images piece by piece, evolving them from bits of magazines into whole new, amazing compositions.