I'ts been a busy weekend here at MADART Studios hanging art at two new location in New Smyrna Beach, FL.  The first location that is now carrying original MADART paintings is the fabulous, and delicious, Outriggers Tiki Bar and Grille at the New Smyrna Marina.  When you first walk in the door you are greeted with my tropical artwork front and center, they look fabulous and are the perfect compliment to the tropical oasis setting at Outriggers.  And the food is sooooo good, I've eaten there numerous times and everything is amazing!  If you like seafood be sure to try what ever freshly caught fish they have on the menu, you won't be disappointed :)

The other location now displaying one of my paintings is the brand new, state of the art, New Smyrna Chevy Dealer.  My painting "Fire and Ice"© fits so perfectly in with the crisp white of the space and their blue logo, it really ties in amazingly well and adds some great color and shows what a difference art can make in a space.  And it was only fitting to transport the painting to the dealership in our corvette of course; had to represent Chevy, hehe :)  Everyone that works at New Smyrna Chevy is fabulous, the customer service is great and highly recommend them for your next vehicle.

So, if you are in the New Smyrna Beach area and would like to see some of my art in person be sure to visit Outriggers and New Smyrna Chevy!!

Every summer I make my annual summer trip up to Alaska where I grew up, in one of the most remote places you can imagine.  I think of it as an artist's retreat to step away from all the hustle and bustle of living in Florida and just get back in touch with the untouched beauty of nature.  The mind is free to absorb all of the quietness that comes from being so far away from cities, roads, cars, etc., it's a moment to reflect and just enjoy life in it's most raw state.

My husband and I have a cabin there, as he also commercial dives in the fall for Sea Cucumbers, an Asian delicacy.  Most of my family still lives in the area, so it's also a time for me to get to visit with my parents and siblings and reminisce about our crazy childhood!  If you want to read some of those stories and learn more about what it is really like to live in the Alaskan Bush, check out my sister's blog www.alaskaforreal.com it is some of the best reading you will find on Alaska, and it's the "REAL" deal, she's lived that lifestyle for almost 40 years!

Here are some of the photos from the trip, one of the best parts about it were the over abundance of whales, they were everywhere!  And I am completely and totally obsessed with whales, dolphins, and any and all sea life, they are all amazing creatures to me and I could just sit and watch them all day.  The humpbacks were particularly busy this summer, bubble feeding everywhere, it is such an incredible sight. You can spot a very large ring of bubbles in the water moments before they rocket out of the water with their mouths wide open after having circled the small krill under the water and then filling their open mouths as they surge upwards, it's incredible!!

In this first picture you can clearly see the ring of bubbles near the shoreline, this is just moments before the whale burst out of the water.

We of course did LOT's of fishing, one of the things we do every summer is stock up on our winter supply of salmon, halibut, yellow eye, ling cod, and lot's of other delicious Alaskan seafood, and of course shrimp and crab too :)  I myself only eat a little seafood every now and then, not really much of a meat eater, but my husband and daughter are serious seafood lovers!  This summer my husbands Jamaican mom and her brother came and stayed with us for several days, their first trip to Alaska and needless to say they were in complete awe at all that Alaska has to offer, a trip of a lifetime...and they too went home with their fair share of seafood.

Besides fishing and whale watching, there is so many other fun things to do, beachcombing, cliff jumping, I stay in the boat, there is NO WAY I'm getting in that cold water, smores, bird watching, you name it, there is something to always do while in Alaska.  And the view from our cabin, which sits over the beach, is constantly changing and always has something to enjoy from sailboats, whales, birds, seals, and so much more...a true look into the raw beauty of Alaska.

One of the neat things in the area to see is the sea lions perched on one of the "cans" (the cans mark shallow rocks), they are always there and it's amazing they can even get up on the cans to begin with!

I hope you enjoy this little peak into my Alaskan sojourn I take every summer, and highly recommend everyone visit Alaska at least once in their lifetime, you won't regret it!!

Since 2013 I have come out with my annual "Circle of Life" calendar and it is always a best seller, I just released the 2016 edition last week and it's already the most popular calendar on Zazzle!!

My "Circle of Life" Collection has always been one of my most colorful, fun art series I have ever done and seems to appeal to just about everyone.  It's the perfect calendar to place anywhere whether in the kitchen, craft room, office or any place you'd like a pop of color to inspire you to have a wonderful day, each and every day.  And when the year is up you can even take the design out of the calendar and frame them up to enjoy as wall art!

There are three sizes available and you can change the color of the binding as well, a great gift to yourself that gives back all year round or the perfect stocking stuffer or gift for loved one's and/or co-workers even. I hope you enjoy the newest edition!!

I was at the grocery store and decided to take a peek into the October issue of "O" the Oprah Magazine, as I had heard the possibility of my art being in this issue...and there it was!!  Front and center in the "Home Edition" section all about plaid, I like how they also use the caption "Mad for Plaid" how cute :)  My beautiful "Multi Blues Plaid" pattern featured on a Deny Designs baroque Mirror, what a thrill!  There is nothing like going into a store and seeing your art on a product, or featured in a mainstream magazine...and Oprah, WoW, that's just amazing, still processing it all :)

PS, I think the cover colors of the magazine are such a fit for my art, hehe :)

I actually created this design, and several other plaid patterns, a couple of years ago.  I took some of my abstract paintings, and layered them over each other with some hatched lines to create the unique plaid looks.  I think it makes the designs more unique and special instead of just a standard digitized plaid pattern.

The "Multi Colors Plaid" and "Multi Blues Plaid" patterns are both available on numerous Deny Designs products, on everything from shower curtains to coasters, phone cases and more.  Plaid is Hot, Hot, HOT right now on everything from fashion to home decor, so why not enjoy a different take on this trendy design with some unique MADART infused into it!!

If you've purchased any of the Deny Designs products with my plaid patterns, I would love to see them! You can send pictures to meganduncanson@yahoo.com

The rapper 50cent and his Vodka Company Effen Vodka are going to be hosting several art shows across the country, dates to be announced later.  But, I wanted to share with all of you what I came up with!  As you all know I do love to paint martini glasses, and have painted an Absolut Vodka painting in the past, so this was right up my alley!!  What do you think of my painting?  

Once I know more about the details of the show itself I will be sure to share here, stay tuned!!

You can see more of my martini, vodka inspired art here.

As many of you know, I grew up in the wildest, remotest part of Alaska with only my 4 siblings around to entertain and play with.  Looking back on my childhood, and seeing how other's react to our wild and crazy stories, I realize it probably wasn't even slightly normal, hahaha!  But, while living the Alaskan Bush life I never thought anything off it, it just...was.  We learned to entertain ourselves and even at times taught ourselves school...well...at least my sister Tara and I did, the boys were a different story altogether!!

I go back to my childhood stomping grounds several times a year.  My husband and I now have our own cabin in the very same small fishing village that we would sometimes commute to by skiff for school.  It really brings back memories and allows me to visit with my family, all of whom still live in the area.  My oldest brother James lives in the village, and also captains my husbands boat when he is commercial diving in October, my parents and sister Tara live a boat ride away in their floathouses and my two younger brothers Robin and Chris live in the city of Ketchikan (think "road to nowhere") where we fly in by jet and then take a 20 minute floatplane ride out to Meyers Chuck where our cabin is.  I will be posting some photos of my recent trip last month, from beautiful sunsets to amazing whales bubble feeding and displaying their tails in all their glory, so stay tuned for those!

One of the things I did while up there last month was to help my sister Tara start her blog "Alaska for Real by the Daughter of a Walrus"!  I'm soooooo excited she FINALLY has internet service out in the bush and we can communicate via e-mail on a regular basis, and she now has the most fun, "REAL" Alaskan blog you will find on the internet!!  She is a published author that has a way with words that will keep you coming back for more wit and fabulous fun all about the Alaskan lifestyle.  

Her most recent blog post is about herself and I growing up and having the kind of bond that two sisters have when they only have each other in the remote bush of Alaska.  Please check out her blog and follow along as she posts more riveting stories about the Real Alaska!