Watchful Tiger

Watchful Tiger by collage artist Megan Coyle
“Watchful Tiger.” Collage on paper. 16″x12″
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I’ve been taking a bit of a break from my art-making so I can unwind and experiment with other media. However, I’m still working away on collages here and there. This week I completed my latest commission, a tiger collage. The client had purchased my “Watchful Lion” collage, and was interested in getting a tiger collage to go along with it. She also wanted a sunset in the background of the composition.

So as I worked on this piece, I kept a thumbnail image of the “Watchful Lion” in front of me so I could make sure the new collage would look related to the previous piece. This one was definitely a fun piece to work on. I really enjoyed using all the bright colors.

It’s Over There

It's Over There by collage artist Megan Coyle
“It’s Over There.” Collage on paper. 5″x7″
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Here’s a piece I made a couple months ago. It was for a fellow artist and Elon alum. I realized I hadn’t posted this one yet – so here it is!

At the moment I’m taking a break with making new collages, but once I get back to work I’ll make sure I post any new pieces.

Old Town Boat

Old Town Boat by collage artist Megan Coyle
“Old Town Boat.” Collage on paper. 12″x16″
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And here’s the finished collage. There’s only two more collages in this series that I have yet to post. And once I have, I’ll be taking a bit of a breather from all of my art-making so I can relax and recharge my creativity.

National Gallery

National Gallery by collage artist Megan Coyle
“National Gallery.” Collage on paper. 12″x16″
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My new landscape/cityscape series has given me an opportunity to intensely study my gray color palette surroundings in DC. When I decided to collage the National Gallery, I realized I needed to change things up a bit. Thus I created a composition where you can see bits of the building behind several trees. This added a little more color, and made the layout more interesting to tackle.

Red Ruffed Lemur

Red Ruffed Lemur by collage artist Megan Coyle
“Red Ruffed Lemur.” Collage on paper. 18″x24″
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Lemurs are such unusual critters. I just love their eyes – they always look somewhat cartoonish. And I had a lot of fun putting this piece together.

Lately, a lot of my animal collages have been in the larger size I work in – 18″x24.” I decided that I really needed to create a series of bigger animal collages. It helps if you have a variety of sizes to pull from when working on an inventory for an upcoming exhibit.

Lipstick Lizard

Lipstick Lizard by collage artist Megan Coyle
Lipstick Lizard by collage artist Megan Coyle
“Lipstick Lizard.” Collage on paper. 12″x16″
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And the collage is finished! The lizard that inspired this collage lives at the National Zoo, and I noticed that its skin was a little pink around its lips. Thus the way it looked inspired the title.

And now I’m off to work on a turtle piece. The photos will be posted shortly.

Barn Owl

Barn Owl by collage artist Megan Coyle
“Barn Owl.” Collage on paper. 7″x5″
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Above is the finished “Barn Owl” collage. The client gave this piece to her sister (who is expecting) to go in the baby’s room. The color scheme I worked with matches the colors used to decorate the room.

Karma Chameleon

Karma Chameleon by collage artist Megan Coyle
“Karma Chameleon.” Collage on paper. 12″x16″
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Here’s my first attempt at collaging a chameleon. Next time round I’d like to play even more with the texture of the lizard, and perhaps have some fun with focusing on what chameleons are known for – changing colors. There are all kinds of possibilities…just think of how many unique backgrounds or settings could be used for the chameleon as it tries to blend in.

In other news, last week my solo show in Manassas ended. It was wonderful getting the opportunity to share my work at the Candy Factory, it’s just a shame that the time flew by so quickly. I was pleased to see that several collages now have new homes. As great as it is to sell your artwork, sometimes I find myself thinking “Oh no – I hope I can make something just as good to replace the sold work.” There’s always the worry of having enough consistent and cohesive work to exhibit in upcoming solo shows.

I’m going to be pretty busy working away on artwork for future exhibits this year and next year. After that, I think I’ll take a break from exhibiting my work so often so I can focus more time and energy on other projects like short animations or another children’s book.

Hippo’s Day Out

Hippo's Day Out by collage artist Megan Coyle
“Hippo’s Day Out.” Collage on paper. 18″x24″
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This piece was inspired by Happy the Hippo who used to live at the National Zoo. Aside from the meerkats, Happy was one of my favorite animals to visit there. Unfortunately they moved him to Milwaukee Zoo in 2009, although he must be happier there since he’s around other hippos. Anyway, the above collage is inspired by the many times I stopped by the zoo and Happy was outside in his pool. He’d hold his breath underwater for several minutes, as impatient tourists would stand by with cameras ready when he’d resurface. Whenever he did resurface, it was only for a few seconds before plunging back down into the water.

I’m currently working away on several new animal collages. And I’ve also started thinking about taking a break from exhibiting my work in galleries. I’d kinda like to focus on other projects instead of taking on the workload of promoting exhibits…we shall see what I end up doing…

Tree Baby (Firefox)

Tree Baby (Firefox) by collage artist Megan Coyle
Tree Baby (Firefox) by collage artist Megan Coyle
“Tree Baby (Firefox).” Collage on paper. 16″x12″
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And here’s the finished red panda cub. These little critters are so cute in person!

I’m currently working on several large animal collages – around 18″x24″ – that will be used in an upcoming exhibition. I’m also doing a bit of preliminary work for a 2d animation that I hope to put together at some point. Busy, busy!