Blog | Megan Coyle: Artist & Illustrator

July 4, 2011March 21, 2018

Made in the U.S.A.

Megan Coyle Made in the USA exhibit

Yesterday I did some gallery sitting for the Del Ray Artisans. They currently have their “Made in the U.S.A.” exhibition on display. The show runs from July 1st until the 22nd, and features artwork inspired by U.S. people, places, and things.

As usual, I had to take a few installation pictures of my collages in the exhibit – “Lincoln Memorial” and “Washington Monument.”

Megan Coyle Made in the USA exhibit

There’s a bit of a funny story behind my two pieces in this show. Apparently the labels got mixed up so that “Lincoln Memorial” was beside the Washington Monument while “Washington Monument” was beside the Lincoln Memorial. Apparently lots of visitors noticed this mix-up and kept approaching the gallery sitters to let them know that the labels needed to be fixed. The curator wasn’t sure if I wanted the labels to be this way – if I was trying to prove some sort of point. Eventually they switched them so the collages were properly labeled. It was pretty amusing to hear how many people took note of the mistake and almost demanded that the labels get fixed on the spot.

Megan Coyle Made in the USA exhibit

Above is an image of the gallery with the “Made in the U.S.A.” artwork on display.

Made in the USA Del Ray Artisans Exhibit

And this is the ad that is being used to advertise the exhibit.

I hope everyone is having a Happy Fourth of July! The Del Ray Artisans exhibit is definitely very fitting for the holiday.

July 1, 2011March 22, 2018

Made in the U.S.A.

July 1st – 22nd, 2011
Nicholas Colasanto Center; Alexandria, Virginia
Map and Gallery Info

Opening Reception: Friday, July 1st from 7:00 – 10:00p.m.

Megan Coyle’s “Washington Monument” and “Lincoln Memorial” collages were on display at the Del Ray Artisans’ “Made in the U.S.A.” group exhibition. Both collages were previously on display in the “Local Scene” group exhibition at National Harbor.

“Made in the U.S.A.” featured artwork inspired by U.S. people, places, and things. The show included the work of several local artists working in a variety of media. Aside from the artwork being inspired by different U.S. subjects, several of the works of art were also made from U.S.-made materials.

July 1, 2011June 15, 2024

Collage: Painting with Paper

Blue Rhino by collage artist Megan Coyle — “Blue Rhino.” Collage on paper. 9″x12″
Order a print

July 1st – 31st, 2011
Gallery Thirteen; Alexandria, Virginia
The Firebricks and Frames Exhibition Series
Map and Gallery Info

Opening Reception: Thursday, July 7th at 7:00p.m.

Megan Coyle was the featured artist for July for Gallery Thirteen and RedRocks’ new exhibition series: “The Firebricks and Frames Exhibition Series.” Gallery Thirteen created a partnership with RedRocks of Old Town Alexandria to develop and manage the series which was hosted at RedRocks.

Megan’s “Collage: Painting with Paper” exhibit included several of her animal, portrait, landscape, and cityscape collages. This was the first exhibit in the area that included such a range in the subject matter of Megan’s work. The exhibit also showcased her unique style of “painting with paper.”

June 21, 2011January 29, 2017

Studio Update: Projects and Upcoming Solo Show

The Artist from a Distance by Megan Coyle I’ve been itching to begin work on another batch of collages – it’s been tough focusing on editing my book, but it will be well-worth it when it’s complete. I’ve especially been wanting to begin work on new artwork since several pieces sold recently – including the above “The Artist from a Distance.” It’s time to start cranking out more artwork!

Aside from book work, I’m beginning to come up with ideas for future works of art. First I’d like to work on another set of animal collages. Perhaps I’ll stop by the National Zoo sometime soon to find some inspiration.

I’d also like to film a collage being pieced together from start to finish. I’ll start this project off by testing it out on a smaller collage. Then hopefully I can figure out how to speed up the footage, and ta-da! I’ll upload it to the web for all to view. I’m very much interested in sharing more of my process with everyone.

And I’m beginning to work on selecting artwork for my exhibit at RedRocks which is part of the Firebricks & Frames exhibition series. I’ve designed and ordered postcards for the exhibit (fingers crossed – hopefully they’ll arrive in the mail soon!) which I’ll post soon. The show will open on July 1st, so it will be here before I know it! Anyway, off I go – there’s lots to do!

June 19, 2011January 29, 2017

Drawing Inspiration from the Figure

This weekend I stopped by the Del Ray Artisans to check out the “Drawing Inspiration from the Figure” group exhibition. My collage “Man at the Market” is currently on display at the show. The exhibit opened on June 3rd and will run until the 26th.

Man at the Market collage by Megan Coyle

Above is an image of my collage on display.

Man at the Market collage by Megan Coyle

And here’s another angle of it.

Things are slowly but surely coming together with my children’s book, Duck & Fish. I’m running a giveaway for the book that ends on June 28th – find out more about it here. At the moment I’m working through a few more revisions. Once I’m finished with a couple more rounds of editing, it should be complete. Aside from my book work, I’ve been busy planning future exhibitions.

Anyway, I hope everyone had a great weekend and a Happy Father’s Day!

June 8, 2011January 29, 2017

The Firebricks & Frames Exhibition Series

Front view

Back view

A couple months ago I heard that I was accepted to be part of a new exhibition series in the area – “The Firebricks & Frames” exhibition series. The series is managed by Gallery Thirteen and RedRocks. From June until December of this year, a different artist will be featured every month. The art exhibitions and receptions will be hosted by RedRocks but planned and organized by Gallery Thirteen. Above is the postcard for the series – my “Blue Rhino” collage is the image I’m using to advertise my solo show.

Tonight we’re having a launch party for the series. I’m going to be the featured artist for July, so I won’t have any work up during the launch party, although I will have an opening reception during the first week of July when my work is installed.

In other news, it will be a little while before I have any blog posts up with new artwork. I haven’t gotten around to making new work since I started revising my children’s book and working on marketing upcoming shows. So much to do, so little time…but soon I’ll have some time to devote to art making. More to come later!

Anyway, I’m off to celebrate with other artists at the launch party!

June 4, 2011February 2, 2017

My First Children’s Book: Duck & Fish – and a Giveaway

So here it is folks, the cover art for my first children’s book – Duck & Fish. It’s currently undergoing some editing, but I hope to have it completed relatively soon. I was pretty excited about putting this all together. It all began last fall with a couple of sketches and a rough draft of the story, and gradually, whenever I had a spare moment in between commissions and exhibition work, I would work on piecing together the illustrations and refine the storyline.

Duck & Fish tells the tale of a mallard duck who meets a flying fish at the beach. The two animals tell one another about the joys of flying in the sky or swimming underwater. Once they go their separate ways, Fish finds himself imagining what it would be like to fly while Duck ponders life underwater. What would happen if they could live such different lives?

To celebrate the release of my self-published book, I’m running a giveaway. You can enter for a chance to win a free copy of my book – the giveaway ends June 28th and the winners will be announced on June 30th. The giveaway is now closed and the winners have been announced.

And of course I couldn’t resist Photoshopping a picture of myself to include the two stars of the book – Duck and Fish.