Sat 20 Mar 2010
Sun 21 Feb 2010
Wonders by Meg Lyman
Metallic ink on ACEO
$25 – e-mail to inquire about purchase
I feel like this toucan today. There is inspiration in the air. It’s probably because it was a beautiful, full-blown spring weekend, the sun was out, the daffodils were peeking up through the pine needles, and I spent yesterday afternoon out in that beauty, arms deep in my car’s engine compartment. Ahh, spring. Too bad it’s going to get cold and nasty again this week.
I haven’t done much art the last few months, and let’s face it, the end of February is a bit late to be planning the year. The weather is partially to blame. But I also think I needed a break to decide the direction I want to go with my art, which is why it has taken so long to figure out what I want to do with this year.
I doubt now that art is ever going to be my main source of income, and I’m OK with that. A lot of my inspiration isn’t terribly marketable, and I just don’t want to paint things for other people for the rest of my life. Luckily, all my commission work has involved cephalopods so far, which makes it enjoyable, but 1) it doesn’t pay very well and 2) it’s hard to knuckle down and do it when you have a dozen more inspiring ideas clamoring for space in your head. Because of this realization, I decided to do fewer conventions this year. After two years on the circuit, I know which ones are money makers and which are the most fun with friends. I’ll stick to those, and probably mail in art to the rest. Note that most of those I’m attending are in Atlanta, or nearby, which cuts down on expenses.
2010 Convention Schedule
- FWA (Atlanta) – Artist’s Alley, volunteer at the art show
- OutlantaCon (Atlanta) – Dealer’s Table
- Mobicon (Mobile) – Mail in art
- Imagicon (Birmingham) – Mail in art
- RCFM (Huntsville) – Maybe attend with a Dealer’s Table; depends if friends go
- Anthrocon (Pittsburgh) – all in (Dealer’s Table, Art Show)
- Dragon*Con (Atlanta) – all in
- AWA (Atlanta) – all in
- Con on the Cob (Akron) – all in
Other than conventions, I of course want to keep improving my art. I also want to focus my inspiration more in order to refine my style and start giving my art more meaning. Just because I have a vision of a tractor tire nautilus shell doesn’t mean that anyone will buy it. It needs to tell a story or make a point… otherwise, it’s just my subconscious barfing on the canvas. As fun as that is for me, very few other people dig it enough to pay for it.
I’m using mind-mapping to help me focus. Specifically, I’m using the tool “VYM” for Linux. If you are having problems with art block or with inspiration, check out mind mapping. It can be done with a pen and paper, and can really help you filter through your ideas and pick the ones that will take you somewhere. Without it, I probably wouldn’t have posted this plan until July.
Tue 9 Feb 2010
I wonder which was the mother and which was the father?
Commission; SOLD
5×7″ gouache* on paper
*with some interesting results because of the honey filler in M Graham gouache. Will post more later.
Sat 30 Jan 2010
I haven’t been arting much recently, partially because of this guy! My new pal and roommate, Lefty Lyman, is an approximately one-year-old boxer mix. The fantastic Southern Hope Humane Society had no idea how he lost his leg. He crash-lands on the stairs sometimes, but other than that, he gets around fine!
Sat 30 Jan 2010
Since the Bears didn’t even come close to the playoffs this year, I was a bit bored while watching the playoffs at the bar, and used the opportunity to try several new dark winter brews on tap. They were all delicious. Dark beers go well with cold weather and football, which are two of the very few things I like about winter.
The first was Fort Collins Brewery Chocolate Stout. It was pretty tasty, as chocolate stouts go. It did not, however, taste at all like chocolate. It was smooth with a hint of sweet up front, and a sour aftertaste. It didn’t have much bitter flavor either, so I can’t even say it tasted like cocoa… but despite that, it was a good pick.
I give it a 7.5 / 10.
Sun 10 Jan 2010
It’s Thermodynamics!
Gouache and ink on ACEO
SOLD
Creating my art plan for 2010… stay tuned!
Wed 23 Dec 2009
Happy Holidays! See you again in 2010!
Love, Meg
Mon 21 Dec 2009
Keel-Billed Squid by Meg Lyman
11×14″ gouache on Canson board
SOLD
My commission requests are getting really interesting! This is one of my recent ones, and a favorite. I am having a lot of fun putting various animal patterns on cephalopods (see below: poison dart), and this commissioner wanted me to put the Keel-Billed Toucan pattern on a squid. Birds are so colorful and this one is particularly pretty. The hardest part was figuring out what parts of the squid should correspond to the various bird parts!
Sun 6 Dec 2009
Glow-in-the-Dark Shark by Meg Lyman
ACEO, gouache
SOLD
Color experiment!
Thu 19 Nov 2009
Poison Dart Squid by Meg Lyman
8×10″ gouache on matboard
SOLD
Hey everyone, I’m back! I’m all moved into my new house (well, mostly, except for the boxes full of books), and life is fantastic. I haven’t done much art in the last month, and thankfully, I haven’t had any conventions to prepare for. Back into the saddle!