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Where Surface Meets Paint
Written By: Donna Rhodes | Issue: September 2024
Cover Artist Megan Gaillour’s artistic sensibilities and capabilities are constantly evolving, yet remain centered on the beauty and mystery of nature.
Megan Gaillour is at that glorious stage of Art Convergence, an epiphany.
It’s when the artist’s eyes, soul, hands, and tools merge into magic – and surface meets paint with an outpouring of joy and satisfaction.
She pulled together all the concepts, symbols, and skills collected since childhood.
It began with a vivid memory of her grandmother’s oil paintings. Her grandmother’s Bob Ross infatuation. Mountain nature’s dahlia perfection. The dahlia festivals that etched floral beauty into her heart. A fascination for pen and ink pointillism.
And now, she’s taken a broad turn toward animals as subjects.
“It was at a Dahlia Fest that I fell in love with painting pet portraits,” she said. “That’s when it all started coming together. I made several pet paintings for my family at Christmas. I dived into oil painting and have been focusing more on creatures. I always felt a deep connection to animals.”
Megan won the Dahlia poster contest in 2023. She said, “I had seen they called for artists. I thought, that’s cool, but I didn’t give it much thought. Then I decided to take the challenge. I started two days before deadline. I was going to visit my parents in Florida. I worked at the airport and on the plane and then spent a full day painting at my parents. Deadlines really get me in gear.”
And voila! She won!
She said online, “Feeling so overwhelmed with gratitude and joy from this wonderful honor of winning the Dahlia Festival Poster contest this year! I’m so grateful to the wonderful support of friends, family, and the Highlands community!”
Megan is self-taught. She found her way by exploring online. She didn’t have to go to art school when so much was available onscreen. She simply hit her own stride, one site at a time.
Her workdays are filled, teaching yoga and managing a grocery, but she manages to sneak in paint-days. Truth is, painting won’t turn her loose. She feels it guiding her closer to a career down the road.
She says, “I am moving out of a hobby and making it more of sharing with other people. I’m working on a series for ACP Home Interiors. I am definitely finding myself moving toward showing my art to the public.”
