Throwback Thursday has me thinking back on one of the absolute biggest highlights of my art career thus far, creating four massive paintings for a Christies charity auction during Miamis Art Basel Week 2018 benefiting The Global Wildlife Conservation.  It was a magical night celebrating the art world and working towards preserving natural lands for future generations.  Just having the opportunity to share my art at this event was a huge honor, but then I was completely blown away when Leonardo DiCaprio bid on my art, and the paintings were eventually purchased/auctioned to several billionaires...I never in a million years expected such a positive response to my art, it was a truly humbling experience.

My amazing daughter (Plastics Media) organized this opportunity for my art to be included and we had a fun evening out with friends in the magical city that is Miami, especially the vibrant, energetic vibe that takes over the city during Art Basel; it's my favorite week of the year and look forward to seeing the art, people, fashion and just the energy that lights up Miami Art Week.

Normally by this time of the year, July, is when artists start looking for venues, businesses and organizations to collaborate with during Art Basel Miami, and this continues right up until the first week of December when Miami Art Week happens.  But, due to Covid-19 there hasn't been any talk of Art Basel 2020, and understandably so.  I can't imagine at this point in time that such a huge week of endless parties and art events would be allowed due to the social distancing that is required in Miami at the current time.  Yes, we have months for things to get better, but, without the ability to plan and prepare, will Art Basel occur this year in Miami?  If so, will it be a "masks required" scenario?  I'm going to be keeping a close eye on chatter and rumors of what will be happening and crossing my fingers that my favorite week of the year is still a reality for 2020.  In the meantime I'm going to optimistically continue honing my craft and work on a new art collection to unveil during Miami Art Week, even if it's a virtual event.

I've started a new collection of paintings I call Color Studies.  These are all painted with acrylics on Bristol paper (unframed), in sizes from 11"x14" up to 19"x24" and they are quick little studies to work on color combinations and design elements.  Most of these are abstracts, but I also do some of my PoP of Love hearts as well, that have less detail than my other hearts.  These color Studies really help to keep me inspired and allow me to create finished art every day, so far I am loving this new direction!  And am going to try some of these designs on larger paintings soon, for now I'm just really enjoying the process of creating so much new art and hope you all like these new pieces as well.

I am also offering these original paintings at VERY affordable prices, so that everyone can enjoy some colorful, vibrant original art in their homes.  You can see all the available pieces HERE, and be sure to check back on a regular basis as I try to add new ones every day as often as I possibly can.

​I have also been adding them to my Society 6 and Pixels.com sites for prints and all kinds of fabulous print options, home decor and accessory products.

I will also be creating some of my popular style of abstract Landscapes and Circle of Life paintings as Color Studies as well and offered at the same price.  I don't paint a lot of these anymore, but it's fun to revisit this style with new colors and add in some different ideas/designs elements as I move forward with the color studies.

Wow!!  Hard to believe it's been over a year since I posted in here!  I need to get back to regular blog posts.

I wanted to share the latest Livin' the MAD Life purse collection featuring my cityscape paintings.  This is my favorite purse collection so far, I just love everything about it!  The handbag style with the gold rivets is classy and works for day or night and features some of my favorite cities, including two of Miami, my home and favorite city.

do ​It's funny thinking back to when I was a wild bush kid growing up in Alaska and how I would love to go to my grandmas and watch Miami Vice, my favorite show as a kid.  I dreamed of one day living in Miami, and two years ago I made that dream come true, even having lived in Florida for over 20 years, it never was Miami.  Back to the Alaskan bush kid...all my siblings and the neighboring village kids would always tease me and call my "city girl", hahaha!  At the time, I would get so mad, because I was the ultimate tomboy and could anything as well, or better than, any of the boys, so to be called a city girl, was the ultimate insult.   But, here I am in one of the biggest, most happening cities on the planet and I feel right at home here.  I've found a way to balance my love of the outdoors with city life and get the best of both worlds.

Click HERE to view the whole collection

​It's my Birthday today!  And for this entire week I'm offering some unique Circle of Life paintings at reduced prices as a thank you to my fans and collectors for following me and my art for so many years, I am truly blessed to follow my passion and make a fulfilling career from it.  You can see all of the paintings as they become available on the Mini PoP Monday page. And I wouldn't be able to do it without all of you, so thank you from the bottom of my heart.  I will also be donating 20% of all proceeds from original paintings sold this week to No More Tears, a Miami based charitable foundation that is devoted to providing individualized assistance to victims of Human Trafficking and Domestic Violence in the U.S.

As a survivor of domestic abuse it is important to me to be able to give back and help other women who are in a similar situation as I was and be able to be free and live the life they truly deserve.  I hope I can inspire other women to know that there IS a better life for them free from abuse and fear.  This past year has been the best year of my life, I'm living my dreams, painting full time, building a new business, traveling and riding and racing my mountain bike, my second passion.  I feel like I'm finally able to be myself after decades of being repressed, and fear governing everything I did and said, but no longer!  This year has been filled with growth, change, revelations, and new beginnings.  I wake up every day thankful and blessed, motivated to chase after my dreams and create new ones, and hopefully inspire others to do the same.

​I've also become much more involved with my biking, and have some great events coming up soon that tie in with my art, it just doesn't get any better than that for me!  My biking has been my saving grace this past year, it allows me to leave any worries behind and just be outdoors and focus in the moment. I've also met so many wonderful and amazing people in the South Florida cycling community who have welcomed me with open arms and are so supportive of my biking endeavors, including Arnie, owner of Bike Tech stores and VeloSport Events, who I am doing a very special event with soon, and am honored to be an Ambassador for.  I'm also going to be racing an entire mountain bike series for the first time ever, wish me luck, haha!!  As a woman, cycling is a truly empowering experience in so many ways.  It's very much a "mans sport", the ratio is close to 80% men to only 20% women; but myself and other women, and organizations, like VeloSport Events, are working to change this and get more women on bikes!  When I'm riding I feel free, energized and focused on the job at hand.  Knowing that just by showing up at the trails, racing and sharing my overall love for the sport I'm opening doors for other women to do the same; to make women aware of how rewarding it is to be on a bike, whether as a way to workout, be competitive, for the sheer pleasure of it, or all of the above!  And to also let more men see women on the trails and road, and that we are here to stay and help grow the sport.  It's one of my goals and dreams to inspire as many women as possible to get out and ride and experience the freedom and joy that comes with being a badass woman cyclist!

​​I'm also starting to paint some new abstract, symbolic paintings that incorporate my love of biking with my art, truly a fulfilling experience for me to combine my two passions, look for more of these paintings to come to life soon!  I have also started to video all new paintings and create time lapse videos that can be seen on my YouTube channel. 

So many wonderful opportunities coming up for my art and cycling over the next year, I'm super excited to share them with all of you as they happen.  Thank you again for being a part of my life and art journey, YOU all inspire me to keep reaching for the stars and following my passions, I hope I can do the same for you.

Best,
Megan