Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Megan Gaillour. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Megan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

I have always felt my parents support behind me choosing a career in an art field. Whether it was when I was younger and curious about animation and cartoon;through buying me art books to learn how to draw when I was in elementary & middle school. Too the possibility of pursuing graphic design in high school; and purchasing me Photoshop to accompany my learning in various graphic design classes. When I began selling my paintings and drawings, they bought various pieces from me. As well as, being there for the first time I was in a gallery, and even after moving, have been the first people I let know when I’ve sold pieces. I often fill the family group chats with my works in progress and finished paintings. Even if I didn’t believe there was a possibility to become artist and actually make money for it, I never felt that belief from them. I never felt like I had to do the typical go to college get a degree and work at 9 to 5. They always made me feel like it was possible for me to pursue my dream of creating art…in whatever capacity I wanted.

Megan, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

While, I currently live in Highlands, North Carolina, I am originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Which has a very diverse and large artistic community & history. As far back as I can remember, I have always been interested in art in one way or another. I grew up being surrounded by a lot of artists; but looking back one of the most influential people in my life was my grandma, Priscilla. I would often watch her paint or watch her as she followed along to a Bob Ross video. She gave me one of my first drawing books— how to draw realistic cats. And at the age of 8, after attempting draw a few cats; I remember, wondering how I would ever get to a point to drawing animals, realistically, and feeling that would never be possible. Now, twenty years later, painting realistic wildlife is my primary focus. When I was growing up, I was really interested in cartoons and animation, and thought that that was a path that I would follow when I grew up, I was also very interested in graphic design and took as many classes as my school offered in that area; and my final year of high school I became a senior editor for the yearbook. Due to the cost of art school I ended up not pursuing graphic design. It wasn’t until 2017 that I ever picked up a brush to begin painting. Self taught through various YouTube videos, I began with acrylics, within a year, I found myself moving to the medium that my grandma most often used—oils. I very quickly fell in love with this medium, and is what I primarily use to create my works today. What really began my pursuit of beginning to make art more of a career was entering a contest in Highlands, North Carolina for the Dahlia Festival in 2023. After I winning this contest, a local magazine, The Laurel, featured the art in the magazine; and the following year invited me to be the feature on the cover. Following the Dahlia Festival, a local high end interior design store, ACP Home Interiors, invited me to sell my pieces at there store; which is what inspired me to created pieces of wild life. While my primary focus is on oil painting of wildlife, I also have done many pet portraits, and am now beginning to expand into landscapes. I currently have a piece on exhibition at The Bascom, renowned gallery in the town.

My process for creating a piece is very special and sacred to me. I often spend months working on a piece. Building each layer, carefully placing down each brushstroke of fur, and Connecting with the spirit of each animal that I am working with. My main focus of my wild life pieces is bringing forth the soul of the animal through the eyes. Which is often what is first notice when looking at my works. Each piece is a journey and lesson to trusting the process And trusting myself to bring forth that animals essence through each painting.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I feel like the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the growth and everything that art teaches me about myself. Every piece that I have done, especially as I have in more recent years begin setting intentions with each piece, has carried its own lessons. And through the process of creating each piece, I am asked to trust myself and trust the process that unfolds in each session. It’s also a practice that helps to quiet my mind and bring me into a place of stillness and focus where I am asked to be fully present with what I am doing. Each session is like a therapy session with myself, and at the completion of each piece I have a physically representation of my growth; and it also creates a reflection for each collector that take a piece home with them, to bring that energy of growth into their own space for them to connect to it in their own unique way and on their own unique journey. I think that’s the reward for me, a tangible form of growth that can be shared with others.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I think what I would like to see is a shift in the way that society reviews art not as something. The only a select few can do or you can only make money off of being an artist when you die. But understanding the actual impact that art has on our society and what it truly brings to us. That there are so many different avenues in which you can pursue art, and how painfully boring society would be if you did take away all art in the world; from TV to movies to music to the covers on our books to the posters, we hang on our walls to the T-shirts and clothing that we wear, I don’t think that people or society as a general understand how much art truly contributes to our lives and what it would actually look like if nobody pursued art. And I feel like if society treated art with the reverence that it deserves, and we treated artist with reverence that they deserve, artist would be taking more seriously would be compensated properly for their time instead of what often happens in this community of people rather than paying their artists will say that you are being paid in exposure. Even just in my community I see so many artist who are incredibly talented are not truly charging what they are worth. I feel the best way to support artist and creatives is actually valuing what they bring to our lives and to our society and really contemplate what it would look like if there weren’t artists in the world.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Meganauburngaillour.com
• Instagram: Megan.auburn.art