2017: Year in Review, Art by Megan style!

I love reading "Year in Review" posts on the internet because I love seeing people doing what they love and kicking creative tush.  So, here's mine at Art by Megan!  I couldn't have done any of this without my amazing family, friends and clients, so thank you if you are reading this for being part of a wonderful year at Art by Megan! 

Me and my friend Marina of The Warner Firm started the year with a bang + a photo shoot! Amazing photo by our friend Chi-Chi of ChiChiAri.

January 2017: January brought new ideas and collaboration opportunities, like the one pictured above.  My friend Danielle of Beyond Bklyn pitched the idea of a photoshoot with art and fashion and we decided it was a MUST DO!  We worked with some of our favorite creatives in NYC and from our group called TuesdaysTogether NYC, which is part of The Rising Tide Society to pull off a full fashion shoot featuring my paintings.  It was so much fun working with our amazing photographers Kate of Kate Alison Photography and Chi-Chi of Chi Chi Ari.  

February 2017: In February, I was able to help host a pop-up at West Elm in Manhattan for some of my favorite creative ladies in the city!  It was so much fun and we loved being set-up in the beautiful store for the day.  Thanks to West Elm for supporting artists and small business owners!

Also, in February I hosted a little art show at the adorable coffee shop in Brooklyn called The Coop and the best part of it was that friends came all the way from Maryland to the opening to support me!  It was so kind of them to visit and I will never forget how generous that was - thank you Madison, Olivia and Alison.  

March 2017: A New Studio! This was a BIG step for me as it was my first studio outside of my home.  It was a SCARY financial leap as a small business owner, but I felt like it was time.  As with most scary decisions, it was one of the best things I have ever done for my business.  

April 2017: I traveled to San Francisco to participate in the RISE summit, an online summit with the goal of raising money to build a school with a partnership created with Pencils of Promise.  We FAR surpassed our financial goal, heard amazing business advice from some of the top names in the creative and social media industries, and I was able to reunite with some of my favorite people who I worked with online.  It was a really wonderful time and I am so thankful for the friendships made through this awesome work with The Rising Tide Society and Honeybook.  

Also in April, I unofficially started a mastermind with two of my favorite business owners out there.  Meredith of Cake and Confetti and Brittany of Brittany Collier Studios are awesome business women, excellent advisors, and trusted opinion-givers.  I truly value not only their hilarious jokes and our running banter, but our friendship that has developed as women "solo-preneurs" supporting one another as we grow our businesses.  If you are a creative business owner reading this, I STRONGLY urge you to find people who you admire and then ask them to be in a mastermind together.  We put one another in the "hot seat" during our "1 hour" (aka 2.5 hour) calls, tell one another the brutal truth, challenge one another's ideas, and we sometimes do happy dances and or burst into tears, depending on the season.  Love you, Mastermind ladies.  

May 2017: I found my first REAL LIFE INTERN!  If you follow me on social media, you know that I loved having Kara join my studio for a month in the spring and we both learned so much and had SO MUCH FUN!  It was so productive and it was amazing to have another person there to bounce business, life and creative ideas off of.  I love you Kara and come back immediately.  We found one another through a feature that Create Mag did about Art by Megan, so THANK YOU a million times over to Create Mag!! 

June 2017:  At the beginning of the month I began painting in FULL-FORCE!  The traveling we were able to do in May as a family totally inspired me to paint and my brain goes full-speed ocean mode once summer hits.  I was completely covered in paint every single day, ruined all of my clothes, and I was as happy as a pig in mud.  And then, my little tiny intern returned for the summer! 

End of June: I took some much needed time to just be mama.  We went to the beach as much as possible, collected a million seashells and painted on the beach.  It was wonderful to get some time with my little girl and to decompress after a crazy, busy spring! 

July 2017: In July there were a lot of beach trips with my little lady, lots of ice cream, family fun and adventures - and SO MUCH BLUE PAINT! 

Also, I worked on some amazing commissions for private clients and some wondreful interior designers and really got to push myself creatively!  I love working on commissions, so if you are ready for one, I am your girl! (sign up here - shameless promotion).  

August 2017: We started a podcast!  My studio-mate Amy, of Amy Frances Photography and I decided that our studio conversations were just ridiculous and random enough that it might make a good podcast.  So, our little dynamic duo of studio mates decided to hit the waves of podcast land and never look back.  IT IS SO FUN!  We have delved into some of the hottest topics within our industries including Plagiarism, Mentorships, Inspiration, and Comparison. We have also had some of the most kick ass contestants, or guests, or whatever you call them on our show, including our good friend Whitney of We Gather.  It's a great creative outlet and I am thankful that Amy ordered that darn microphone on Amazon one day while I was painting and forced me (sorta) into it! 

Also in August I was able to re-enter the classroom as a visiting artist at KIPP, an incredible high school in the Bronx with equally incredible and talented art students.  We discussed art, life, finances, planning for college, living the "Dream" as an artist, having a day job, and taking the plunge towards following your heart in life.  It was a truly great experience and I LOVED being able to visit thanks to my friends at NYC-based Stationery company Pineapple Street Designs, who are both teachers at the school.  

September 2017: I began teaching painting courses at Maman, a stylish-instagram paradise in Tribeca, NYC.  I love teaching and was so thankful for the chance to get back into the teaching groove thanks to the events and workshops program at Maman.  Also, they serve NUTELLA brownies during class, there is ROSÉ and it's so fun to watch my new students enjoy themselves doing something new and fun to them.  I always leave my classes with a smile on my face, even if I am carrying all of my supplies for class in 3 bags on the train and getting looks from fellow passengers.  

photo by my friend Shaunae of Shaunae Teske Photography.  

October 2017: I painted a mural!  One of my lifelong goals as an artist has been to take the BIG plunge and to paint a huge ocean mural.  Thanks to a wonderful friend at Pencils of Promise in NYC, I was able to make this dream come true.  It was so awesome working at such a large scale and I cannot wait for the next opportunity to paint a mural.  

Also in October, I had my first HUGE release day of 25+ new ocean paintings on canvas.  It was SO MUCH WORK to prepare that many paintings and do all of the behind-the-scenes, website updating, and social media marketing but it was so wonderful to see all of that hard work get so much love from my audience.  Thank you guys for the support! 

November 2017: I had pop-ups at 2 of my favorite locations ever!  My first holiday pop-up took place at Oliver Dunn, a charming and gorgeous shop in Georgetown, DC.  I wanted to not only buy every single thing in the store, but also move in.  If you find yourself in DC, go check it out! 

Also, I took a trip down to Charleston, SC to have a pop-up at Indigo Market!  The shop is just perfection, the owners are the most adorable ever, and the opening was AMAZING!  It was really an incredible night full of laughs, new friends and surreal connections.  I love Charleston so much and got to see some great friends like my buddies at Mac + Murphy, Liz and Lacey! 

December 2017: December way crazy, busy and wonderful!  I had a group show with some super cool NJ and NY artists at Main Street Gallery in Manasquan (Jersey Shore), NJ.  It was a beautiful night and lots of fun to mingle with, meet and get to know other artists in the area.  

Thanks to an amazing friend from grad school a million years ago, I was able to attend Art Basel Miami as a guest.  It was so amazing to get to meet curators, artists and galleries from all over the world at this INCREDIBLE event.  I am still reeling in how insane the experience was and promise to dedicate an entire blog post to it eventually. 

Also in December, I launched new products that I had worked on for months with my favorite printers!  I released new notecard sets, a 2018 Calendar of Art by Megan beaches and hand-painted ornaments.  I love having holiday goodies available for my clients! 

photo by the awesome Kate of Kate Alison Photo.  

So thank you all once again for supporting Art by Megan!  Not a day goes by where I don't feel lucky to have such an amazing community of supporters. 

Happy 2018 + I cannot wait to see what this year brings!  

photo by my adorable friend Peace Ofure.