Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Meg Warnock. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Meg thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?
Creating artwork has always been something I am passionate about and what I feel I am best at. The rush I get when a composition is coming together is unlike any feeling in the world. I sold my first painting I was 15 and being a full time artist has been my dream ever since. I graduated with my BFA in 2022 and have had my work in small galleries in the Salt Lake area but have had trouble consistently selling paintings. I work full time as a waitress to make ends meet in this increasingly challenging economy. So many people are living paycheck to paycheck at the moment and very few have the funds to buy luxury items like paintings. I often worry that making a living as an artist is going to be extremely difficult or that maybe I don’t have what it takes. However, I remain hopeful that in the future I will find my place in the art world and society will reward creatives for our hard work and dedication to our craft.
Meg, 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?
My name is Meg Warnock and I am a 24 year old artist based in Salt Lake City, UT. I graduated from the University of Utah with a BFA in 2022. My work mainly consists of oil paintings but I have many charcoal drawings, reduction prints, and ceramic works in my collection. Pattern, distorted perspective, and the flattening of space or objects are visual qualities I consistently use in my work. During my final year of art school my goal was to experiment with many styles, techniques, and mediums to expand my artistic tool belt so I can better solidify what I want my work to look like in the years to come. My education involved a lot of live figure drawing and painting which fueled my love of portraiture. More recently, I have detached from my classical roots by experimenting with more contemporary themes and techniques.
Painting has always been my medium of choice because the process reflects the artist in such a vulnerable way. Being made by hand means there will be flaws, quirks, and evidence of emotion in the work. This allows the viewer to look directly into the artist’s conscience and subconscious mind.
I use painting as an outlet to recall blurry memories and unpack emotions I have a hard time understanding in my daily life. I was diagnosed with Bipolar and BPD in 2018. Memory blocking and dissociation are my main trauma responses so I have always used art as a way to ground myself. Painting memories gives me a space to self-reflect and the freedom to go back and forth between representational and abstraction in one work.
My process includes layering multiple images and drawings on top of each other. I usually make a sketch of my reference and use my drawing as a reference rather than the photograph but I will use a projector if I really need it. Most of the time, I only use aspects of a picture whether it be a pattern, color palette, a figure, or an object. By using fragments of many sources, I can create a fractured, entirely unique reality within a painting.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
I live in a city that doesn’t have a huge contemporary art scene and many people who are buying artwork from galleries are tourists who want a souvenir from their time in Utah. I used to paint lots of landscapes of the mountains, red rocks, and wildlife as a safety net because I know people regularly buy traditional artwork like that. As beautiful as those paintings can be, they don’t represent me or the work I enjoy creating. Since then, I’ve been entering my artwork in online contests and shipping my paintings to cities with a more lively contemporary art scene. I’ve had much more success selling my work by finding galleries that showcase artists that create work more similar to mine.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
One of the most rewarding aspects of being an artist to me is seeing my artwork in the home of people I love. Many of my friends and family and pieces of mine in their homes and it makes me feel so loved. One of my dear friends has had a large oil painting of mine hanging in their living room for years and when their apartment building caught fire, it was one of the only things they grabbed when evacuating the building. They said it was one of the only things they owned that was irreplaceable. It touched me so deeply that something I made could be someone else’s most prized possession.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: meg.warnock