Animals in Paper

Fine Dining for Pandas by collage artist Megan Coyle
“Fine Dining for Pandas.” Collage on paper. 18″x24″
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July 7th – September 29th, 2012
Beatley Alexandria City Gallery; Alexandria, Virginia
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Megan Coyle’s work was on display in a solo show at the Beatley Alexandria City Gallery. The Alexandria City Gallery Program exhibits the artwork of local artists in fifteen city galleries.

As a child, Coyle was always drawn to animals and colorful illustrations. Growing up in the D.C. area made it easy for her to visit the Smithsonian museums. She especially enjoyed visiting the animals at the zoo and seeing the animal exhibits at the Natural History Museum. Coyle continues to visit those places, but now she does it to study and gather inspiration for future works of art.

“Animals in Paper” featured several of Coyle’s new animal collages alongside a few older works of art. Her newer pieces included several 18″x24″ animal collages depicting species that didn’t appear in her previous work. The artwork explored the colorful diversity of animals in nature – with mammals, reptiles, and birds.

Inspired by color and the unique characteristics of different species, Coyle has created familiar images of animals big and small. All the collages were constructed entirely from magazine strips using a technique she calls “painting with paper.” If you were able to stop by for a visit, you could get a closer look at all the layers used for these paper creations.