A little more about me

           elcome to my website! My name is Margaret, although most people know me by Merg, and I'm a 25 year old artist from Chicago. Growing up in the north suburbs of Chicago, my parents always encouraged me to be creative and to listen to that artistic voice in my head. I soon realized I had a deep love and talent for moving paint around the canvas, and that feeling never went away.

I started painting seriously at age 16 after spending a summer with my Aunt Jane on her farm in Fulton, Missouri. She taught me the fundamental techniques of playing with color and light; and most importantly, introducing me to the most essential lesson: "PAINT WHAT YOU SEE." I owe a lot of my current style to her as well as the influence to pursue art as a career. 

I attended University of Oregon and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Art. After working in the service industry and painting on the side for several years after college, I eventually started painting full time at my studio in Rogers Park, Chicago. A studio I share with three other incredible female artists, known as GRL Collective. Starting GRL Collective with my older sister, Caroline, and two of our best friends, Haley and Jordan, was the best decision I could've made. With me as a painter, Caroline as a photographer, Haley as a screen printer, and Jordan as a rug maker, I am not only so gratefully surrounded by creative female energy, but they also happen to be my closest friends and family. 

What do I love so much about painting, you ask? My first true love was portraits. I love portraiture and the freedom that comes with illustrating a person's character, personality, or internal emotions, with the use of color, light, and texture through paint. The expressive human face is profound, and will continue to fascinate me as my practice grows. Along with portraits, I love painting lush, colorful landscapes and laying the paint down nice and thick. I love painting food almost as much as I love cooking food. Other than realism, I love to experiment with abstract as well. I like working large scale when it comes to abstract expressionism because I want the painting to scream with movement and color - with the goal of creating a piece my viewers would want to reach out and touch and get excited about. I love organized chaos, and I love the shock factor that art is capable of. 

Currently living in Wicker Park, Chicago, I find ways to improve and expand my art daily. I hope to continue building my name as an artist, and focus on diving into personal series' of my own in the near future. Aside from personal goals, I'm loving the commission process and the continuous challenge of creating personalized art for my clients, it is incredibly rewarding to be a part of.