Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Dupuy.
Hi Megan, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Growing up I spent a lot of time with my grandfather. He was an important influence in my life, in so many ways. He was a self-taught wood smith. I used to watch him in his barn, weathered hands creating beautiful wooden furniture and art from plain wood. I think watching him spend evenings reading about his craft and then bringing that new knowledge to life, problem-solving, tinkering…it is part of my confidence in how I approach art. He is my constant inspiration for creating without fear.
I’ve spent most of my life in South Louisiana, and that is reflected in my art – both flora and fauna. Big skies over wide-open rice fields crisscrossed with levees, dark tree lines in the distance… that’s one of my favorite views. I was homeschooled so I had time to spend outside and that is what I loved to do. I believe that is why my favorite subjects can be found outdoors.
I have always been creative but it took time for me to find painting as an outlet. When I was young I picked up every craft I could talk my mom into purchasing supplies for. I had dozens of sketchbooks, and boxes of art supplies; I was always making a mess in my spare time.
In late college, a friend gave me a bag of acrylic paint & other art supplies she was planning to throw out. My evening wine & painting quickly became a stress relief for me. After graduating college I started painting for my own personal joy and then eventually for family and friends. In 2010 I had an inquiry to purchase a painting and…lightbulb. This could be a creative outlet as well as a career choice. I was working full-time, though, until 2019 when my husband had a job change and we decided I could “retire”. I quickly turned a formal living space into my studio and started painting full-time and marketing my art.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
When I quit my full-time job, I did so with my family in mind. We have three children and they come first. That has been difficult to balance, with schooling at home during COVID and adding our newest member in August of 2021.
Keeping any kind of painting schedule with a baby in the studio has been messy, chaotic, and certainly frustrating at times. My studio is my happy place, though, and it’s worth the effort to continue painting even when tiny fingers create new challenges and unexpected contributions to my paintings. My focus this year is to be content with taking my time, staying motivated, and continuing to paint even while busy & tired. The gratification of completing a painting is worth the effort.
My tendency to measure my skills against fellow artists is certainly the challenge I’ll always have to combat. Being self-taught, I always worry that I don’t know enough about technique, tools, history, and the greats. I constantly am reminding myself that being an artist is accepting that you will forever be a student and I shouldn’t have to qualify where I am in my journey. My two main markets, South Louisiana and Memphis are flooded with amazing artists.
It’s intimidating!
The business side of the art has been challenging in unexpected ways. I feel I was prepared for the financial side, but keeping up with the demand of constant social media posts has been surprisingly difficult. I want to unplug regularly, but you cannot do that if you’re required to post daily, or multiple times daily, to keep up with the algorithms. I’m definitely guilty of going silent for days or weeks at a time. However, continuous posting pays off and when I’m consistent I do see an uptick in sales. Scheduling posts helps, and I’ve learned that everything is content – I’ve been surprised by the engagement on something as simple as a picture of my cup of coffee with my easel.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I love to paint BIG! I always have. Working with a large canvas is such a physical experience. Your brushstrokes are big arm swings, you’re squatting down and standing up, it’s a full-body experience. I paint with music so it becomes something like a dance or a choreographed workout. While I do offer smaller pieces, most of my paintings are 36×48 or larger. Most recently I created a diptych for a restaurant that consisted of two 40×60 panels.
I paint impasto with acrylic mixed with heavy body medium, often choosing my palette knives over brushes. Gold leafing is in much of my artwork, applied with a unique rolling technique that results in texture as well as a soft shine. I also work frequently with ArtResin epoxy resin, which seals in the art and gives it a gorgeous, glossy finish. I want collectors to be drawn in by the texture and movement in my paintings.
For certain collections, I do take commissions that include custom color selections and I think this flexibility has set me apart. I often work with collectors and their designers to coordinate their paintings with wall and accent colors.
My subject selection is eclectic, I’ll admit. I most commonly sell my Elevated Coastal and Magnolia collections, both of which are customizable. My abstract landscapes have been very popular, as well as my Louisiana birds, and personalized sonogram abstracts. The landscapes and birds happen organically and are most often painted between commissions. These usually sell immediately, but I do occasionally accept commissions for these as well.
My most popular pieces have been my Elevated Coastal collection. This is a series of oysters that are painted with sophisticated colors in a slightly abstract style and finished with gold leaf and resin. For those of us that grew up eating oysters, they’re a nod to our southern roots without a beachy vibe. I’ve painted nearly 30 since I started the collection in 2020, in different angles and sizes, including a selection of mini 12x12s. While many of these have ended up in south Louisiana and along the Gulf Coast, I’ve had several find a home here in Memphis as well. I still accept commissions for these oysters. Similar to the oysters, my Magnolia series include gold leaf and a resin coating – I have several available locally at Social in East Memphis.
I am proud of my ability to tackle a project – I’ve had a couple of unique requests recently that required a lot of planning, coordination, and effort, all with a little one tagging along. This past fall I was selected to paint a large fiberglass Lion for our Lakeland City Hall. He was part of a fun collaborative project with the Lakeland Chamber for our city and I’m planning to paint a second one soon. Most recently, The Francis Southern Table & Bar in St. Francisville, LA commissioned 5 large paintings for their banquet hall. They requested different Louisiana scenes, but all in coordinating colors/tones. It was a heck of a project to tackle, storing and painting such large panels and transporting them to Louisiana.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
My husband has been incredibly supportive of this journey, I would not have been successful or even continued pursuing paint without him. He lets me talk him through my process and helps with our children while I’m held up in my studio or at a show. My favorite days are when he plays guitar for me while I paint.
My aunt, Michele Richard, is a wonderful artist and has been a source of inspiration as well as encouragement and knowledge. She is my go-to when I don’t how to move forward on a painting.
Abigail Aaron is my first collector and is responsible for an important business relationship, I’m incredibly grateful for her trust in me as an artist.
Recently I’ve joined a group of female entrepreneurs who meet monthly. There is so much power in networking. We all come from different fields and levels of business knowledge, but all have common issues that we can problem-solve together. It’s been inspiring to hear their stories and it keeps me excited to grow my business.
Growing relationships with fellow local artists have also helped keep me energetic about creating art. My friend Noelle Holler and I try to meet when we can for lunch and discuss life as well as our art. Arrow Creative is another source of artist fellowship as well as a venue for shows and an outlet for local artists. There is so much more locally that I have yet to explore since we moved here just before things shut down, and I’m looking forward to growing as an artist here in Memphis.
As much as I enjoy painting, the joy of finding someone who appreciates my art enough to purchase it is indescribable. So, most importantly, I’m thankful to all of my collectors for their support.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.megandupuyarts.com
- Instagram: @MeganDupuyArts
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MeganDupuyArts/
Image Credits
Pure Pixel Photography @purepixelphotography
