Still Life | Megan Coyle: Artist & Illustrator

September 9, 2022June 8, 2024

It’s Corn

Corn collage by artist Megan Coyle — “It’s Corn,” Collage on paper, 5″x7″
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The other day I decided to breakup my flow of working on portraits by creating this still life collage. It was inspired by a song that has been blowing up on social media these days, and I figured I might as well make a collage of corn, film my process a bit, and share my process while playing the song in the background. The most challenging part of this collage was cutting out every little tiny piece of corn and pasting it down. I was alternating between a few different shades of yellow, and I’m pretty pleased with how it looks. The husk is rather simple and the background is really embracing the textures/fragments of photographs that I found, cut, and then layered.

July 20, 2021June 9, 2024

Don’t Lose Your Head

And I’m back at it with my anatomy series. This was yet another challenging yet interesting piece to work on. Again, I live streamed my process from beginning to end, and I really enjoyed focusing on using a more colorful background. This was my first time working on a skull made entirely from magazine cutouts, and a lot of the detailing (as well as the outline of the skull) proved to be a bit of a challenge. I like to work with scissors, and often times when I’m cutting extremely small and thin pieces of paper, it can be a little difficult to cut and adhere the pieces to the support – usually because they can easily stick to your fingers.

March 28, 2021June 9, 2024

It’s in Your DNA

This was another challenging piece that’s part of my new anatomy series. Again, I’m not quite used to working on more abstract pieces. The challenge has made my process more interesting. I really enjoyed using more fragments of photographs for the background for this one. I also worked on adding touches of texture within the foreground.

I think I’m getting close to the end of this series for the meantime. I may tackle one more related collage, but otherwise, I think I’ll start working on portraits soon. Again, this was a piece where I live streamed my process. I’ve really enjoyed chatting with followers as I’ve worked on my artwork. Previously, making artwork was such a solitary process for me, and as someone who really enjoys the company of others, live streaming has made me more motivated to work on artwork since it no longer feels like something that’s solitary, but more of a group activity.

March 10, 2021June 9, 2024

It’s in Your Blood

This piece was a challenge since I’m not really used to working on abstract and geometric pieces. It’s interesting how abstract red blood cells look, and I initially tried to incorporate some texture but realized that it was taking away from what red blood cells are known for – having a smooth surface. This was another collage I worked on while live streaming my process, and I’ve really enjoyed the small community I’ve found on TikTok.

Overall, I really like how this new anatomy series has energized me. I’m getting more excited about my art and my process by working on these pieces. I think previously I wasn’t challenging myself enough or really focusing my craft on any one subject. I had a tendency of tackling a subject here and there. I think I need to work on more of these cohesive bodies of work in the future.

March 3, 2021June 9, 2024

I’ve Got Your Back

A couple of my followers on Instagram suggested that I make a spinal cord collage, so I decided to make a piece that focused on a section of the spine (since the entire cord would be a little too intricate for the size I was working in). This piece was challenging for a number of reasons – it was my first time working on this kind of subject matter, and the pieces I cut for it were extremely small. Even the outline of the spine consists of small strips of paper.

Overall, I really enjoyed the challenge of working on something new. I’m having so much fun this year working on art. And I’ve surprised myself with how much work I’ve been able to complete within a short period of time.

February 25, 2021June 9, 2024

You’re an Animal…Cell

One of the most challenging things about working on this piece was working with all the tiny pieces. Since this animal cell collage is in one of the smallest dimensions I work in, often enough the pieces I cut would stick to my hands when I tried to glue them to the surface. I could work with tweezers, although I think I prefer gluing pieces of paper directly with my hands. For whatever reason, it makes me feel closer to my work. And thus I’m fine with the challenges involved with the process.

Again, this is another collage in my anatomy series. It really has been a breath of fresh air working on something new. I’m looking forward to continuing to tackle this series.

February 23, 2021June 9, 2024

I Beleaf this is a Plant Cell

When I was a kid back in school, I was always drawn to art and being creative, but I was equally drawn to science. I was fascinated by how things work and all the cells that make up various organisms. This plant cell collage is another piece in my anatomy series, and I’ve really enjoyed tapping into that love of science that I had as a kid.

I am having so much fun exploring anatomy with art. And if anyone out there has any suggestions for what I should try to tackle next, let me know. I am always looking for new ways to push my creativity.

February 5, 2021June 9, 2024

You’re Getting on my Last Nerve

I’m really amusing myself with the titles I’m coming up with for my anatomy series. This piece was especially fun to work on. I like how cells look so abstract. This nerve cell was inspired by a recent injury I am recovering from. It made me think about how complex our nervous systems are, and how fascinating nerve cells look.

I think I’ll have to do some more cell collages. This has been a fun change of pace from the usual portraiture and animal pieces that I do.

January 28, 2021June 9, 2024

You’re a Breath of Fresh Air

This is part of my new anatomy series. Previously I made a heart and brain collage, and this was another fun challenge. I like how abstract and interesting different organs are, and I enjoyed figuring out the composition for this one. I also like coming up with interesting titles (like figures of speech and puns) that go along with these pieces, instead of titling them they are and leaving it at that.

Lately I’ve been feeling really inspired. It’s amazing how one month you can feel so uninspired and then the next you can’t seem to have enough time in the day to make all the things you want to make. Even though I have a really small following on TikTok, the community there has helped motivate me to constantly work on new projects every week. I’ve been enjoying going live and streaming my process as well.

January 25, 2021June 5, 2024

Cherries

Earlier this month I made a “Citrus” collage, which made me realize I should tackle more interesting still life compositions. Completing that piece inspired me to work on this “Cherries” collage. I enjoyed the challenge of working with variations of red within the entire composition. I also worked on this piece while live streaming my process on TikTok, and I had a blast answering questions while working on various stages of the collage.

Lately my color palette has been really bright, and I’m enjoying how my live streaming sessions have inspired me to make so much new artwork this month. “Cherries” is my eighth piece completed so far in 2021.