#BEHINDtheCANVAS with Megan Watters
Did you see our latest #ARTinPUBLIC campaign? With four beautiful paintings virtually hanging in San Francisco's famous Transamerica Building, votes poured in and ultimately left us with one winner: Megan Watters. Her piece Jeepster pulled in over half of the 650-plus votes, and we want to give you a #BEHINDtheCANVAS look at our crowned victor.
We first met Megan only a little more than a week ago when she joined the revolution as one of our Artist Ambassadors. We hope you like her story as much as we do...
Like many at ARTtwo50, Megan was into art from the start.
"I have been painting since I was a little kid - I just always loved the way it made me feel. I used to draw and paint the women in magazines. I made collages. I drew all the time."
Later, Megan took her talents to Emory University where she worked as a scenic artist at Theatre Emory. There, she acquired the skills she would later use in creating theatrical sceneries, backdrops, and stage props. During her time moving around within the performing arts industry Megan became addicted to travel, and the Atlanta native soon sought new adventures in the West.
When she came to California, Megan wiled away her free time hiking the beaches along the central coast and exploring the natural beauty that would later manifest in many of her paintings. With her new-found inspiration and under the influence of a healthy dose of British Rock jams, she created Jeepster.
"Jeepster is the name of the piece I submitted to the contest, after the song "Jeepster" by T-Rex. I remember the time when I painted Jeepster - I was living in central California, working as a design assistant at a conservatory. That was an important time for me because I was very focused on learning about myself and my aesthetic. Though I enjoyed the beauty of my surroundings and the introspection, that time was also wrought with uncertainty for me."
Rather than let the unknown get the best of her, Megan did what we should all do - she danced.
"I remember listening to "Electric Warrior" on repeat the entire time I was working on that piece. I had no idea of what I was going to paint before I started. Instead, I just sorta danced to the music and let my paint dance on the canvas. I think that is what makes that piece so special to me. The true emotion lies not in the actual trees or recognizable images in the painting, but in the paint - in the drips and strokes."
Whether it's music or nature, one thing is certain - for Megan, art is about feeling.
"It’s hard to explain a piece of art or my process in general because I do not know how to put it all into words. I can try to explain what draws me to a painting or an album or the grain on a piece of wood. But really, there is something ephemeral there that can only be felt. That is what I love about what I do. I convey to people my emotion and my understanding of the world through color, texture and lines."
We're excited to launch with Megan as one of our artists, and soon you'll be able to hang her art on your wall! Until then, visit her site at www.wattersart.com to learn more about ARTtwo50's #ARTinPUBLIC winner and one of the hippest new artists to join the cause.
