Year: 2012

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Animals in Paper (Part II)

Scarlet Macaw by collage artist Megan Coyle
“Scarlet Macaw.” Collage on paper. 18″x24″
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September 30th, 2012 – January 5th, 2013
Beatley Alexandria City Gallery; Alexandria, Virginia
Map and Gallery Info

Megan Coyle’s work is 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 (Part II)” features several of Coyle’s new animal collages alongside a few older works of art. Her newer pieces include several 18″x24″ animal collages depicting species that didn’t appear in her previous work. The artwork explores 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 stop by for a visit, you can get a closer look at all the layers used for these paper creations.

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Air Force Memorial

Air Force Memorial by collage artist Megan Coyle
“Air Force Memorial.” Collage on paper. 12″x16″
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The Air Force Memorial is one of my favorite memorials in the DC area, so of course I had to create a collage of it for my new cityscape/landscape series. I like how simple and elegant the design of it is.

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The Botanic Garden

The Botanic Garden by collage artist Megan Coyle
“The Botanic Garden.” Collage on paper. 12″x16″
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And here’s the finished piece! So far, this has been my favorite collage that I’ve worked on in this new cityscape/landscape series. It came together pretty easily and I enjoyed working with this color palette.

Anyway, I’m off to work on another building collage…

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Strange Glue No. 1

Morning Coffee by collage artist Megan Coyle

September 7th – November 20th, 2012
Thompson Gallery; Weston, Massachusetts
Map and Gallery Info

Reception: Friday, September 7th, 4:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Gallery Talk: Saturday, September 22nd, 1:00 – 2:00p.m.
Assembly Slide Show: Monday, October 15th, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m.

“Morning Coffee” was selected to be in the “Strange Glue” group exhibit at Thompson Gallery in Weston, Massachusetts. “Strange Glue” celebrated the centennial of the appearance of collage in painting. The exhibit aimed to explore collage within contemporary art practices.

Coyle’s collage was part of the first exhibit of the “Collage at 100” three-part exhibition. A little over 100 works of art were in the show.

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From Fur to Feathers Closing

Megan Coyle collage artist at Charleston

This past weekend I drove to North Charleston, SC to uninstall the “From Fur to Feathers” exhibit.

Megan Coyle collage artist at Charleston

The show was at the convention center (a part of it is pictured above).

Megan Coyle collage artist at Charleston

Just about thirty collages were on display that I had to take-down and pack-up into the car.

Megan Coyle collage artist at Charleston
Megan Coyle collage artist at Charleston

At night we were driving by the convention center and saw this sign that was advertising different events that would take place there. And then we saw this:

Megan Coyle collage artist at Charleston

I was pretty excited to see that the show was being advertised this way.

Megan Coyle collage artist at Charleston

So we got out of the car and I posed a little bit in front of the sign…

Anyway, I’m a bit relieved that the long trek is now behind me. And I recently decided that this Charleston trip will be the last out-of-state exhibit for me for a while. I need to take a break from all the travel and become more of a homebody. I also need to get more rest!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

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Smithsonian Castle

Smithsonian Castle by collage artist Megan Coyle
“Smithsonian Castle.” Collage on paper. 12″x16″
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Inspired by another one of my walks around the National Mall in Washington, DC. I like the architecture of the Smithsonian Castle – it’s a lot different than most buildings you see in the area. So one day I snapped several pictures of it from different angles, which helped me build this collage.

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Calm Afternoons

Calm Afternoons by collage artist Megan Coyle
“Calm Afternoons.” Collage on paper. 12″x16″
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I’ve been pretty busy these past few days – August has been filled with trips to Charleston, SC as well as NYC. I’m still working away in the studio, working on a landscape/cityscape series that will be exhibited at the beginning of next year.

The piece that you see above was inspired by the National Mall in Washington, DC – which has nice park areas with trees and benches alongside walkways and bike paths. Every so often when I stroll around the National Mall, I’ll notice the way the light hits the trees and the way shadows are cast. This piece was inspired by a series of photographs I took one summer day when the light was particularly bright and the grass and trees looked especially green.

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Bosty goes to Charleston, SC

Bosty goes to Charleston by collage artist Megan Coyle
Bosty goes to Charleston by Megan Coyle

Bosty decided to head down south to Charleston, South Carolina. Apparently D.C. summers aren’t hot enough for him.

Bosty goes to Charleston by Megan Coyle

He wanted his picture taken by some of the area’s landmarks. Oh no – no lifeguard on duty? Oh well, Bosty decided to go ahead and wade at his own risk…

Bosty goes to Charleston by Megan Coyle

After some fountain wading, he strolled along the pathways by the water.

Bosty goes to Charleston by Megan Coyle

Occasionally ducking out of the heat for a moment by cooling off in the shaded areas.

Bosty goes to Charleston by Megan Coyle

He liked admiring the flowers and beautiful views of the water.

Bosty goes to Charleston by Megan Coyle

Towards the end of the day, he decided to treat himself to some ice cream. “Giant cone of gelato? Don’t mind if I do!”

Bosty goes to Charleston by Megan Coyle

Before he ended his day-long excursion of wandering ’round the city, he stopped by the famous City Market in Charleston. Bosty couldn’t believe how big the market was! He hoped to find all sorts of doggy treats there.