Gallery:

Resident Artist at Morpeth Gallery.

Memberships:

2021 Associate member of the Society of Animal Artists.

2022 ARC Living Artist - Art Renewal Center.

King Valley Arts.

Benalla Art Gallery

Awards:

2021 Finalist for The Holmes Prize For Realistic Australian Bird Art.

2020 Semi-Finalist for the Art Renewal Center 15th International ARC Art Salon Competition.

2022 Semi-Finalist with 3 Artworks competing for the Art Renewal Center 16th International ARC Art Salon Competition.

2022 Art Renewal Center - ARC Living Artist, an international recognised title.

Represented in Private collections across Australia, Europe, East Asia and the United States of America

Born in 1997 and raised on a rural property in Queensland, Australia; Maegan spent her early years surrounded by nature and native wildlife. This environment provided her with the opportunity to study their features, individual characteristics, movement, and their expressions. It taught her appreciation of the natural environment and inspired her passion for animals, becoming the foundation for her artistic creativity.

By the time she started high school in 2010, she had moved to the northeastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria with her family. It was the same area that was affected by the Black Saturday bush fires in Kinglake in 2009. She had many friends who were directly impacted by that day and the devastation to the local region. After completing Year 12, she continued formal studies and by the age of 19, graduated University with a Bachelor of Design Arts.

Throughout her education she maintained a continual focus on art and experimentation in style, media, and mediums. She had become confident with her drawing skills and looked for unusual and challenging techniques to enhance her drawings in both concept and composition. One such technique has been traditionally referred to as ‘Fumage’. This incorporates the soot from an open flame as the media directly or in combination with other media to create an ethereal and abstract effect. This technique was popularised by surrealist greats like Wolfgang Paalen (1905 - 1959), Salvadore Dali (1904 - 1989), and more recently the French Canadian artist Stephen Spazuk (1960 -- ).

Maegan explains this by the literal description of ‘Painting with Fire’: the technique of dancing an open flame underneath paper to leave a fragile layer of soot and etching it away to reveal the artwork. Working over a graphite sketch, she layers the soot from an open flame from various sources such as candles, fossil fuels, or wood. She will next begin the lengthy process of removing both soot and graphite by using tools such as brushes, erasers, and various hand tools to create an incredibly realistic image of the animal.

The connection within her art is in the technique. It is man-made fire burning paper (which is a by-product of trees). This comments on the conflict between man and nature. The result of that conflict is that most wild species are directly impacted by man’s carbon footprint. By combining her drawing skills and passion for wildlife, Maegan has created a unique style and a collection of artworks that raise awareness and provide a voice for many species at risk.

Now at age 24, Maegan is accomplishing notable achievements with solo exhibitions in North East Victoria and group exhibitions in the Hunter Valley. She is also a Resident Artist at the renown Morpeth Gallery (located at Morpeth, NSW), where her detailed Original Art hangs alongside established Masters in Realism. She was juried as a Semi-finalist for the 2020 Art Renewal Centre’s 15th International Art Salon Competition. Early in 2021, she was juried as an Associate Member of the Society of Animal Artists. In 2022 she has been juried into the Art Renewal Center and given the Title ARC Living Artist which is internationally recognised and a very difficult accolade to accomplish.

Maegan’s studio is located at her home on rural property in Bobinawarrah, Victoria. Abundant with native wildlife, many have inspired several of her latest pieces.

Studies:
2015 - 2017 Bachelor of Design Arts Majoring in Graphic Design and Visual Art.

Exhibitions:
2018 ‘Absence Exhibition Kodiak’ Solo Exhibition in Fitzroy, VIC.
2019 ‘Absence Exhibition Nine Lives’ Solo Exhibition in Fitzroy, VIC.
2019 ‘Absence Exhibition’ Solo Exhibition in Hurstbridge, VIC.
2019 ‘Painting with Fire’ Solo Exhibition and introduction into Morpeth Gallery, NSW.
2020 ‘Festival of Two Palettes’ Group Exhibition at Morpeth Gallery, NSW.
2020 ‘A Hommage to Wildlife’ Group Exhibition at Aarwun Gallery, Canberra.
2020 Solo Exhibition at Bright Chalet, VIC.
2021 ‘Festival of Two Palettes’ Group Exhibition at Morpeth Gallery, NSW.
2021 ‘Easter Solo Exhibition’ at Bright Chalet, VIC.
2021 ‘Feathers, Furr, Skin and Scales’ Group Exhibition at Morpeth Gallery, NSW.
2021 ‘Holmes Prize’ Finalist Art Exhibition at Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve, QLD.  
2022 ‘Festival of Two Palettes’ Group Exhibition at Morpeth Gallery, NSW.
2022 ‘Convergence’ Group Exhibition by King Valley Arts at King River Brewing, VIC.
2022 ‘Feathers and Fur June Exhibition’ Group Exhibition at Morpeth Gallery, NSW.

Memberships:
2022 Bright Art Gallery
2022 ARC Living Artist - Art Renewal Center.

Distinctions:
2020 Semi-finalist in ARC 15th International Art Salon.
2021 Finalist in The Holmes Prize for realistic Australian Bird Art.
2022 Art Renewal Center - ARC Living Artist - an international recognised title.
2022 Semi-Finalist with 3 Artworks competing for the Art Renewal Center 16th International ARC Art Salon Competition.