Megan Hoover,
mixed media artist

 I am a mixed media artist loving life in north Dallas.  My hubby and I have been married for more than 12 years and have three amazing children together.  With them,  the dog, the cat, and the newly acquired guinea pig, our lives are full of craziness.  This craziness drives me to my in-home studio for what seem like very short moments of peace and quiet.  These moments help me keep my sanity!  Lately, I've been working with acrylic paint, torn paper collage, and graphite. 

My series, "Beauty in the Bizarre", came about after taking an online class (see where else am I? for more info.)  I've simplified my art and try to remain focused on what I love-- color, shapes, lines, and texture.  While I sort of stumbled onto this style while experimenting with different media, it has come to mean a lot to me.  My thoughts are, "Why can't something strange looking be painted in a beautiful way...with rich, fun colors and sophisticated shading and blending?"  So, I try to do just that...and I've begun thinking about our notion of beauty in the world.  To me, it's easy to find ourselves boxed into a limiting idea of what "normal" is.  I got tired of painting "pretty" faces or faces I thought would be accepted as "normal".  NORMAL?  WHO is normal?  What IS normal?  That word is so annoying because it's different for different people.  I wanted to paint freely without thoughts of "normal".  So that's what I'm doing and I'm having so much fun!  I draw quickly, as a child would, and paint with the skills I've acquired as an adult.  These bizarre beauties are colorful, whimsical, original creations painted on paper, cardboard, wood or canvas.