I was recently profiled in my alma mater’s magazine, Elon Magazine. I was interviewed by a current student, and enjoyed telling him a bit about my artistic journey from being an art student to becoming a professional artist.
I was recently interviewed by Workspiration. You can check out the “Work Inspiration” interview online.
I’m excited to announce that a new book is out that features images of my animal collages – Contemporary Wildlife Art by Cindy Ann Coldiron. This is the second book by Cindy Ann Coldiron that features my work, and I’m happy to be part of another curated collection by this local artist.
You can now order the book on Amazon. And you can also check out more art books that feature my collages on the store section of my website.
Last week I found out that one of my collages was featured on Conan O’Brien’s official website and all of his social media sites. Apparently it was featured on the homepage of his website too, but I didn’t get around to realizing it until a couple days after it was posted.
It’s always great when your work gets a bit of attention – and it’s even better when a celebrity shares your work. Anyway, it was amusing reading over comments by people who liked and disliked the piece.
The collage itself was completed over a year ago. I made it specifically for Conan’s website when I realized there was a Coco Moca section where they posted artwork of Conan. So it was my first attempt at trying to create him in collage form.
The feature definitely made my week.
Northern Virginia Magazine featured a blog post about my upcoming exhibit at the Arts Club of Washington – “D.C. Collage Scapes.” The posting, “Collage Art Makes a Comeback,” focuses on my creative process as well as the series of collages that will be in my upcoming February exhibit.
I recently received some info on one of the upcoming books that will feature images of my artwork – Flowers in Art: Contemporary International Artists by Cindy Ann Coldiron. I’m excited to see the final product once it’s released in January 2013. Above is the cover art for the book, which looks pretty fantastic (not sure who the cover artists are just yet). Below is some additional info.
Book Description
Observe a quiet explosion of beautiful, humorous, and contemplative colorful images of two- and three-dimensional floral-themed artwork. Stunning pieces from more than fifty artists and designers, both well known, established, and emerging, from Ireland to Hungary, Finland, and Canada, and from coast to coast in the United States. This vibrant overview of the floral world includes photography, watercolor, acrylic and oil paintings, botanical drawings, pop art, glass, wood, ceramic, collage, Ikebana design, cutting-edge fractal art, and much more. Perfect for flower and art lovers, interior designers, museums, galleries, art collectors, art educators, artists, and for individuals needing inspiration from splashes of color.
Here’s the image that Papirmasse put together to advertise all their artists in the September issue – can you tell which one is mine? You can take a look at all the art and writing in more detail on their website.
At the moment, I’m still working away on some commissioned portraits. The dog portrait has been a lot of fun – it’s an image of two Boston Terriers (I hope Bosty doesn’t get too jealous). The reference photos the client sent me are just fantastic – these dogs are so expressive! Can’t wait to share the progress pictures!
Anyway, I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.
This is being re-posted from Papirmasse’s interview with me that was posted on their website today. I’m excited to be one of the featured artists in the September issue of their publication. Papirmasse’s postcard contest garnered entries from all over the world. If you would like to receive this issue, which consists of 10 postcards with art and writing, subscribe by September 10.
P: Who are you and what do you do?
MC: I’m Megan Coyle – a collage artist and illustrator currently based in the Washington, D.C. area. I grew up in Alexandria, Virginia and studied creative writing and painting at Elon University. Since then, I’ve focused on making collages by layering bits and pieces of magazine pages. I’m drawn to art that’s made from one material but looks as though it’s made from an entirely different material – something I try to do with my own work.My artwork has been displayed in various solo and group exhibitions around the U.S. And recently, my collages appeared in the national craft publication Somerset Studio magazine.
P: Sum up your style in one sentence.
MC: “Painting with paper” – where I recreate the look and feel of a painting through the manipulation of magazine strips.
P: What projects are you working on right now?
MC: I recently finished writing and illustrating my first children’s book, Duck & Fish. It’s a story about a mallard duck and flying fish that switch places – Duck goes on an adventure in the depths of the ocean, while Fish explores the sky.I made about thirty paper collage illustrations for the book, and now that it’s complete I’m working on promoting it. Later this year I’d like to tackle another children’s book, so I hope to start brainstorming more storylines soon. I’m also working on a few lesson plans. A couple months back I put together an education section for my website. It was inspired by the students and teachers that contact me every year asking questions about my work. So I decided I should make things easier for them by putting together some materials for bringing collage into the classroom. I’m working on expanding this new section by putting together a couple new online lesson plans. I’m also dabbling with video editing programs since I’m interested in putting together video tutorials that share my work and technique with others.And in between work for these major projects, I’ve been busy collaging commission work and new art for upcoming exhibitions.
P: What did you do on your summer vacation?
MC: Lots of traveling to neighboring towns and major cities along the East Coast. I like exploring new places for inspiration. I like all the colors and excitement that places have to offer, and I’m constantly taking pictures of the interesting things I find. I often use my photographs for references for future works of art. So even when I’m traveling, even after a long weekend in New York City or another big city, I still have art on my mind.
I find I’m happiest when I’m constantly busy, but every once in a while I venture off to the beach to take a break, sprawl out, close my eyes, and listen to the water. After all, when it’s summertime it’s nice to clear your head and lounge around.
On July 6th I got to experience my first live radio interview. I was definitely a bit nervous about going on a show where I had no idea what questions I would get asked. I suppose I have a tendency of liking the process of being overly prepared and have something already rehearsed and ready to go. And I have to admit, I didn’t tell anyone when I was going on the air since I wasn’t sure how it would pan out. Nevertheless, it was a great experience and I’m glad I did it.
I was on Toginet.com’s live broadcast of Creative Mojo with Mark Lipinski, a show dedicated to the modern crafter and crafting lifestyle. Mark was a pretty hilarious interviewer – can’t you just tell from this fabulous photo of him?
Here are some related links:
Mark’s blog about the episode
The Creative Mojo website
Download the episode for free from iTunes
Listen to the interview below:
