Blue Rhino

Blue Rhino by collage artist Megan Coyle
“Blue Rhino.” Collage on paper. 9″x12″
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This piece was inspired by one of my visits to the Natural History Museum. I decided to make him a blue rhino because I’ve found that blue is just one of my favorite colors to use in collages. There are also so many different shades and textures of blue that you can find when flipping through magazines. I suppose I’m just drawn to the variety.

So things are still a little bit busy. I’m currently working away on a few landscape and cityscape pieces for an upcoming show. And goodness – time is just flying by. I can’t believe it’s mid-July – before long I’ll be packing up the studio and leaving the art center. It’s been a great two months. I’ve learned quite a bit from it all. And so we move on…

My crazy week of artist talks and lectures is over with. You can check out the Art League Gallery’s blog post on my blog lecture from the other day. A few down, and many more to go. With each presentation, I learn quite a bit from what is working and what needs improvement. For the upcoming animal solo show, I’m doing another artist talk. Since I’ll be talking about my source of inspiration for animal collages, it will be a little different than my recent talks.

Anyway, it’s getting a tad bit late, so I should go off to bed soon. I hope everyone had a happy Monday!

Orange Monkey

Orange Monkey by collage artist Megan Coyle
“Orange Monkey.” Collage on paper. 9″x12″
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This little guy was hanging out at the zoo and I just had to do a collage of him. I immediately loved his inquisitive little face. I had some fun with the texture in this piece.

Anyway, things are still pretty busy. I’ve decided to do another artist talk for my upcoming animal exhibition in August. So…more things to plan for. I really am loving what I’m doing though – which explains why I keep trying to take advantage of every opportunity that walks on by.

Tree Frog

Tree Frog by collage artist Megan Coyle
“Tree Frog.” Collage on paper. 9″x12″
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Another piece I completed while being a Visiting Artist at the local art center. It’s another piece inspired by one of my trips to the National Zoo. I’ve completed quite a few animal collages there last month and now I’m off doing a few landscape/cityscape pieces.

I’ve enjoyed my time in the open studio, and at the end of this month that position will be over with. Time really does fly! I’ve met quite a few wonderful as well as interesting people during my time there. I’ve also realized that I don’t think having an open studio year-round is quite the right thing for me – I prefer having the flexibility to dabble in a variety of things as a means to get my work “out there.” So this Visiting Artist position has been just the right thing for me – it’s given me a taste of what it’s like working in a studio that’s open to the public – and also setting up shop there.

Anyway, it’s getting late, and I should start planning out one of the talks I’m giving this week. I hope everyone had a happy Monday!

Stories in Paper Opening Reception

I had a blast at my opening reception for “Stories in Paper” on July 8th. Here are some photos that my dad took during the opening:

Collage Artist Megan Coyle

Here you can see my name on the wall along with the title of the show. I made sixteen collages for the exhibit but we could only fit fourteen in this space.

Collage Artist Megan Coyle

Here I am talking to a few of the visitors.

Collage Artist Megan Coyle

People mingling in the gallery before my artist talk.

Collage Artist Megan Coyle

An HDR shot of my brother filming the gallery – he came all the way from NYC just for the opening. What a surprise!

Collage Artist Megan Coyle

Beginning my talk – the gallery set up a projector for me so I could show slides as I discussed my work. It was especially helpful since I could show photographs of each step for my work in progress.

Collage Artist Megan Coyle

The crowd standing near one of the solo gallery entrances – you can see a bit of the work from the all-media membership show for the Art League.

Collage Artist Megan Coyle

And an action shot of my talk.

I can’t believe the reception is already over. The show was scheduled for 2010 back in 2008, so I had a couple of years waiting for this exhibit.

In other news, it’s been a few days since my last blog post – I’ve been quite busy preparing for the next couple events I have planned in my agenda. This week I’m giving a little talk and demonstration to a collage group that’s stopping by my studio, and on Thursday I’m giving a lecture on blogging.

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Stories in Paper

Commuters by Megan Coyle
“Commuters.” Collage on paper. 18″x24″
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July 8th – August 2nd, 2010
The Art League Gallery; Alexandria, Virginia
Map and Gallery Info

Opening Reception & Meet the Artist: Thursday, July 8th, 6:30 – 8:00pm

Artist Talk: 8:00pm following the opening reception

Megan had her second major solo exhibition, “Stories in Paper,” at the Art League Gallery in Old Town of Alexandria, Virginia. The show featured work that depicted narratives of individuals and groups of people.

The work on display was entirely different than the series shown at the Fisher Gallery.

Cuddling Turtles

Cuddling Turtles by collage artist Megan Coyle
“Cuddling Turtles.” Collage on paper. 12″x16″
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Another collage completed during my Visiting Artist time at the Torpedo Factory. Time is flying by – before long July will be over!

My solo show was installed this morning. I created sixteen pieces for the show, but we were only able to fit fourteen on the wall. Tomorrow’s the big day for the opening reception – I just need to take care of a little prep work tonight to get ready tomorrow. It’s crazy to think that I knew I had a solo show at the Art League Gallery back in 2008. All last year I worked on the body of work for the exhibit. And now, it’s finally up and ready to be viewed! Exciting!!

Gorilla

Gorilla by collage artist Megan Coyle
“Gorilla.”
Collage on paper. 12″x9″
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Here’s the finished piece – and now the next several collages I post won’t include any progress pictures (like I mentioned before). Perhaps I should start taking my camera with me to the studio…

Things have been going pretty well lately. Getting ready to install my solo show “Stories in Paper” tomorrow and then I’ll work on prepping for my artist talk, etc. on Thursday. Then the following week I’m doing a demonstration/talk for a collage group and giving a lecture on blogging. So lots to do – all very exciting, yet it will still be nice once everything is done.

Work in the studio has been interesting. I really enjoy a lot of the visitors that pop in and have met quite a few lovely people. From emerging artists to art enthusiasts, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the conversation I’ve had with others. However, you still get an oddball in the studio every once in a while – I suppose that’s the charm of having the art center studios open to the public.

The other day, I was working away on my latest scapes collage for an upcoming show at NIH. An older woman came in and gradually made her way over to where I was working. She hovered for a while, watching me work. Then she piped in, “You must have done real good in kindergarten.”

I glanced up at her, kind of shocked and mumbled something like, “Yeah, sure.” After the English major within me cringed from her grammar, I was a little surprised by her comment. I do look pretty young but sorry lady, my kindergarten days are long, long gone. I initially felt insulted by this. Once I got over that initial response, I thought her comment was pretty hilarious. I suppose some people consider cutting and pasting paper to be pretty elementary. All I can do is smile and laugh about that. There’s so much more to collage than just that.

Toucan Samantha

Toucan Samantha by collage artist Megan Coyle
“Toucan Samantha.” Collage on paper. 12″x16″
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There’s already a Toucan Sam, so why not introduce people to his female counterpart, Toucan Samantha? I had fun working on this one – especially with the fragments of images I used for the background.

Anyway, where have I been? It’s been a while since my last post! Well, the past few days I’ve been spending a lot of time moving out of my apartment. I’m going to move to a new place fairly soon, and the move has really consumed the majority of my free time. I’ve still put in a few hours here and there in the studio, and I have a few pieces I’ve completed there that I need to take home to photograph.

I’m also beginning to prep for the opening reception of my solo show “Stories in Paper,” which opens next week, July 8th. I’m looking forward to seeing how it all turns out.

Stories in Paper Exhibition

Stories in Paper by collage artist Megan Coyle
Stories in Paper by collage artist Megan Coyle

If you click on one of the images above, you can view a larger image of the front and back of the postcard for my upcoming solo exhibition. Before you know it, July 8th will be here. I’ve got quite a bit of exhibition prep work to do, but I’m excited that the artwork is completed, framed, and ready for the opening reception.

Below is the press release that the Art League Gallery sent out about my exhibit:

At a glance, Megan Coyle’s images deceptively appear to be slightly abstracted paintings. But upon closer inspection, the viewer can see the surface of the “painting” dissolves into bits of paper. Her images are not paintings, but collages carefully crafted from small pieces of magazine photos. Stories in Paper, Coyle’s solo exhibit at The Art League Gallery, explores images and scenes of day-to-day life using an unconventional medium and method to create sophisticated images.

Coyle reconstructs the picture surface by breaking down the human form into different planes – the body, face, and the folds in the clothing. She builds up the surface and texture by layering different shapes of paper, or peels away pieces to let previous layers shine through. “Utilizing this method allows me to create artwork that captures the essence of a painting, but broadens my palette to include textures, pattern, and fragments of photographs from magazines.”

“My process is pretty straight forward. First I sketch out the composition while using multiple photographs as references. I pour through piles of magazines and tear out pages that have the colors and patterns that I have in mind. I cut out shapes of color and affix them where I want them. I block in the color bit by bit, eventually layering shapes, and finally creating a finished piece. Lastly, I paint a matte varnish on top of the collage as a UV protectant.”

Coyle graduated in 2008 from Elon University in North Carolina with a BA in painting and creative writing. Her work has been exhibited throughout the region in venues including the Smithsonian Ripley Center, Fisher Gallery, Nicholas Colasanto Center, and The Art League Gallery. She was recently accepted into the Visiting Artist program at the Torpedo Factory Art Center for the summer of 2010.

In The Art League Gallery:

Stories in Paper: July 8 – August 2, 2010
Opening Reception and Artist Talk: Thursday, July 8, 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Artist Talk: Blogging for Artists with Megan Coyle: Thursday, July 15, 7:00 – 8:00 pm

Flamingo Dancers

Flamingo Dancers by collage artist Megan Coyle
“Flamingo Dancers.” Collage on paper. 12″x16″
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I was going to stick with the title “Flamingos” but then I thought I should start changing these titles up a bit. Flamingos always remind me of ballerinas for some reason. I think it’s their pink feathers and how they perch on one leg like the flamingo in the center.

Anyway, things are still pretty busy. I just finished putting together a bunch of handmade magnets to sell at the studio (they’ve been pretty popular – especially with tourists). And I’m continuing to work on a series of animal collages. I recently took pictures of several finished collages, which I’ll later post. In July I’m planning on working on landscape pieces for another upcoming exhibition. And hopefully, sometime soon, I can begin work on a short animation. I have so many ideas at the moment, and there are so many possibilities of projects I can work on – sometimes it’s hard to acknowledge the fact I’m not wonder woman and can’t do everything all at once.