We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Megan Gardner. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Megan below.

Megan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s jump back to the first dollar you earned as a creative? What can you share with us about how it happened?

A few Thanksgivings ago, I got my very first art commission from my uncle. He had a photograph of his teenaged son wearing the shiniest wide framed sunglasses I’ve ever seen. He had saved his job money to buy the pair of Pit Vipers. The reflective quality of the glasses reminded us of the eyes of a fruit fly, so I decided to draw a picture that I still consider a masterpiece today. The drawing depicted my lovely cousin wearing his sunglasses while standing with a human-sized fly. The resemblance was uncanny. The laughs from my family will always be worth that first ten dollars.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Megan Gardner. I am an independent artist currently getting my Bachelor’s in Fine Arts at the University of West Florida. I’ve been drawing since I was a kid, and have always loved the arts, whether in music, poetry, or visual arts. I have had the privilege of studying traditional art at UWF and have seen many opportunities through that school.

I mainly work in painting and drawing and am currently taking commissions for portraits and local murals. I recently was awarded a gallery scholarship for the Blue Morning Gallery in downtown Pensacola and currently have two pieces of work in UWF’s student show, Tagged. In my artwork, I focus on themes of family, home, and comfort and use bright colors to portray emotions in an expressive manner.

At the core of my identity is my relationship with Jesus. The knowledge of God’s creative intention inspires the undertones of all of my art, and it is the ultimate comfort to know that I am created to be creative. I want my art to inspire people and invoke the same sense of comfort that I have found in knowing God.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

For me, the biggest setback to making good art and being happy with the end result was having a specific vision in my mind of what I wanted it to be before I started. If I start a piece with the final result in my head, the actual result is never going to measure up to my own expectations. To remedy that, I have learned to start off with a general idea, and then let the material that I am working with do the work. It sounds silly at first, but creativity is about leaning into the process, experimenting, and letting yourself fail every once in a while. Honestly, I’m still working on getting over my fear of failure when it comes to making artwork. But I have found so much more freedom to enjoy the process when I roll with the process instead of fighting it.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is being able to look at something I have made and think: I did that. I looked at my full portfolio spread out on the floor for the first time a few weeks ago, and it was an astounding moment to look at the result of hundreds of hours of work and to realize that I am actually capable of being an artist. Seeing the result of my practice inspires me to do more, to make more, and to have more fun with it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.behance.net/gallery/194471327/Finding-Hope
• Instagram: @megsgardn
• Other: I am currently working on building my Behance portfolio website that I linked. More artwork will be posted within the next two months.