Alaskan Travels and Artistic Inspiration ~ Growing up "Bush"

My artistic journey began in the bush of Alaska, one of the most remote parts of the planet.  I grew up in Meyers Chuck, AK a tiny fishing village 35 miles North of the first Alaskan city, Ketchikan.  The only way to get to Meyers Chuck is by float plane or private boat, and each home has it's own source of power via generator and/or solar wind power, with heating by way of firewood; and when I was growing up we did our homework with light from kerosene lamps.  Some of the time me and my four siblings were home schooled as we lived outside of Meyers Chuck, approximately a 25 minute skiff (small open boat) ride away from the one room schoolhouse.  

Growing up in the Alaskan bush with only my four siblings (1 sister, 3 brothers) to play with, it was often my paper and pencil that I turned to for enjoyment and something different.  I would sketch everything around me and anything and everything that popped into my head.  Whenever someone would purchase a gift for me it was always art related, whether art supplies or art how to books and even books of famous artists or fairytale books artists I loved had illustrated.  

This fascination and love of art has never left me, even when I was in college studying Political Science for six years and then teaching high school and eventually working with my husband building custom homes in Florida, my dream of focusing solely on my art never left me.  It wasn't until the early 2000's when I started doing some custom murals in the Orlando area that I started to really feel the itch to make art a full-time career, so I dabbled in different ways of making money with my art for several years and one day decided to list a painting on eBay and was flabbergasted when a bidding war ensued in the last few minutes!  That was it, I was hooked and started painting more and more and honing my skills while selling part-time on eBay, it wasn't until late 2007 that I really embraced my dream career and started selling and licensing my art full-time, and I haven't looked back.  This is the most rewarding, inspirational career I could have ever dreamed of, and it all started in the wild, untamed bush of Alaska.

Alaskan Inspired Collection ~ Megan Duncanson©

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I recently sketched out some new designs to paint to add to the Alaskan collection, as all of the originals in the series have already sold, so I need to add some new artwork.  Keep an eye out for the full version paintings of these sketches coming soon!  These designs were both sketched while visiting my Alaskan cabin, see photos below of the cabin and more beautiful Alaskan images.

New ideas sketched out and ready for some paint!

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My husband and I now have our own little piece of Alaskan heaven and visit there several times a year, and my husband is also a commercial Sea Cucumber diver in the fall months; crazy, considering he was born in Jamaica!  One never knows where life's journey will take them, so embrace every opportunity and find the time to pursue your dreams and follow the journey that your heart leads you.  Mine invariably leads me back to Alaska time and again, it will always be "Home".