Megan Wilson

About Megan

—— Painting

Nature must be part of my life each and every day, even if just for a short time. I am most myself when I am outside, and this has taught me that I am not separate from nature. I am nature, too. This idea is deeply rooted in my work, even if I am simply painting something seemingly removed from nature, such as a still-life. Nature can be felt in the marks I make, in the colors I use, and in the compositions I choose. Depicting the natural world in my paintings through landscapes, specifically mountain scapes, is important to me. The human figure is also emerging in my work and is proving to be equally important. I have begun to merge the two to create a sort of concoction between land formations and figural elements.


In my work, I often utilize a meandering line and stroke, which is representative of much of nature—the wind, water, mountainous horizon lines, branches of trees.


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Artist’s Statement

Exploring my connection to nature is the driving theme behind my work, which is represented through an observed abstraction between human-like forms and natural elements. This connection is one of the most important of my life. I am most myself when I am outside, all alone in the middle of nowhere, and this has taught me that I am not separate from nature; I am nature, too. This idea is deeply rooted in my work, even if I am painting something seemingly removed from the subject.

I apply layer upon layer of paint to my large Masonite boards, starting extremely thin and diluted and working thicker as I go. Oftentimes, I begin with acrylic and move my way into oil. The first layer of paint is almost always my favorite; I love the way the paint runs and drips together. I feel complete freedom during this stage. Repeated reworking starting from this stage allows me to paint without any reservations or caution and gives my paintings a unique openness, freedom, and chaos.

Experimenting with egg tempera makes me feel close to the earth because of the primal nature of making my own paint. It is an ancient medium, but I use it in an untraditional way, and my lack of formal know-how with this paint allows me to explore freely without preconceived notions of how it is supposed to be used based upon tradition. I have found that layering is also important with egg tempera, and, depending on the consistency, can appear transparent or opaque. This quality piques my interest for exploring the physicality of paint.

In my work, I often utilize a meandering line and stroke, which is representative of much of nature—the wind, water, mountainous horizon lines, branches of trees. This line is the one that comes most naturally to my arm, which is important to the integrity of my work. I do not fight this line, even when I work from intense observation; I allow it to manifest and grow into the painting.

Artists like Georgia O’Keeffe and Arthur Dove inspire me because of how true they stay to their own personal and unique interpretations of nature. Their work is informed and inspired by the natural world yet their individual decision making remains somewhat uncomprehended. I explore the endlessly fascinating energy of nature which has captured me so intensely through overlapping brushstrokes, color, and shapes in a way that sometimes makes sense and sometimes does not. In that way, my paintings become a parallel environment to the natural world we are all familiar with; separate yet integrally connected.


Gallery