Meet our Founder

Coila (: 00:00

Hello, and welcome to cowgirl artists of America's podcast, a podcast dedicated to cowgirl artists, I'm koala Evans. And today I'll be your host. I am one of CA's advisory board members and a previous guest on the podcast today. We decided to flip the script as it were so that I can interview CA's founder and artist, Megan Wimberley, who normally hosts the podcast. Before we begin, I want to let you know that CAA is opening up for membership for the first time May 1st through the 15th members who join at this time will get founding membership May 1st through the 15th is the only time to get that membership designation. You can find that link in the show notes, following the program. So, Megan, thank you for inviting me to interview you. This is very exciting for me. Um, how's your day going?

Megan (: 00:50

Pretty good, man. I have been really productive the last few days, like incredibly so

Coila (: 00:55

Wonderful. What have you been doing?

Megan (: 00:57

Like all this cowgirl artists of America stuff, you know, just cuz we're launching on Sunday. So on the first, which is Sunday. So it's just like, I just keep thinking of more and more things to do. Like I ordered some cowgirl or some America stickers so I can send out to members after they join. You know, I just like all these random things that pop into my head and so I go and do them.

Coila (: 01:18

Oh, that's wonderful. So they'll be logo stickers. Mm-hmm wonder. And what size will they

be?

Megan (: 01:24

Coila (01:25):

Two by two. So they'll be, um, square.

Megan (: 01:28

Uh they're well, they'll be round, but it's like a two by and within a two by two square. Yeah,

Coila (: 01:34

Megan (01:34):

Smaller than that, but they're like dishwasher safe and everything. So you can like put them on water

jugs or whatever. Coila (: 01:40

I can't wait. I wish I had my, my Thermo cuz I use stickers all the time. I'm a big fan, so I can't wait to get mine in the mail. yeah. So, um, I was looking through your bio and you have lots of great exhibitions and shows behind you. I did not know that I'm just kind of diving in this really caught my head to, um, that you did like cinch time event championships and um, multiple times. And it looks like you you're very active in the horse world.

Megan (: 02:16

Yeah. I grew up around horses and they are like, besides painting, like painting and riding horses are my two places that are just super in for me. So I grew up riding horses and being in that, in on the rodeo side of things, kind of, I didn't do a lot of rodeo. My mom grand barrels and like my dad calf ropes now. But um, I worked on cutting horse ranches a lot. Um, and so I was kind of in the, in the middle of that. And then in like around 16, my friend and I, um, she's a jewelry make and we were doing some shows and stuff together and we were lucky cuz the sense time event was pretty close to where I lived at the time. And so that was a really funny event.

Coila (: 02:54

And you are an acrylic painter mm-hmm

Megan (: 02:56

Coila (02:58):

So, um, I really enjoyed reading all about what you're doing with your background, with the BA in fine arts from, from Wayland Baptist university. And then, I mean, you got your master's of art in education in Boston, so, so I'm curious, what inspired you to be an artist? Are you like most artists who wanted to be an artist since they were a child or what got you started?

Megan (: 03:24

Yeah. Um, my mom's an artist, she's a Western artist and she, uh, was always painting horses and drawing horses. When I was a kid, it was pretty intuitive to me. I was always drawing, just kind of had that skill.

Coila (: 03:36

So did you, did you take art classes and high school or um, cuz I saw that you have you're highly degreed

in your field.

Megan (: 03:46

Yeah. Um, I did, I did take some art classes in high school. I think a lot of it was just doing the work and getting those hours into practice. After high school, I went to Wayland Baptist university in uh, Plainview, Texas and I majored actually double majored in art and religious studies, but the fine arts side, that's actually where I really started painting. But I remember for the first time like going into like, I'm gonna try to paint. I started out drawing really tight, realistic graphite stuff. Cause I remember sitting in this storm room and I painted a horse head out of like the a Q H a, you know, magazine or something. And I painted this horse head and I was like, oh, that's not terrible. Like that's right. I did very good job. I man, I painted some really interesting things. I was all over the place with what I painted that I look

back, it was not cohesive at all. And I think it was just me kind of learning and playing and, and I guess in painting at first I did actually explore color a lot more than I realized.

Coila (: 04:53

Well, clearly you're still connected to, to color. I mean, with the bowl that you have behind you in the

beautiful blues and the train ions and the color that you have behind you. Um,

Megan (: 05:04

Yeah. It's I think after I graduated, I think I switched back to being more, you know, doing the pencil stuff for a while. Cause the, all of the Western art, the colorful Western art definitely feels like a totally different step to me.

Coila (: 05:19

Mm. And that began in 2016. Is that correct?

Megan (: 05:23

Mm, I think I started experimenting with it in about 2014, 2015, thereabouts. Um, and I started out with, um, soft pastel and I just started playing around with, with these colors and they weren't really worried. I wasn't worried about like proportions and you know, accuracy. And I was just really kind of like what happens if I do this with these colors and um, and it progressed really quickly and I, well, so I was making a lot of them and anybody who works with pastel knows that they can be a mess. And also you have to be so careful cuz they can smear. And so I was like, I like the system I had down and it was more like drawing and I felt more comfortable drawing and then I got tired of buying frames I was like, OK, I'm gonna try, try painting. And so that's when I switched to painting and the paintings of that time, they were unique in color and like I have collectors that have them and they, they really like them, you know, but they are definitely a step you can see, like that was an experimental phase and I did tons of like washy colors, but it was when I first really started like getting people interested in my work.

Megan (: 06:31

And I remember there was like two paintings, um, one in particular, the first, really big bison and that I painted and it sold in an hour and I was like, like I posted it and it was sold in an hour and it was like, okay, like this is obviously something that's resonating with people

Coila (: 06:47

That is incredible. Congratulations on that. Um, I think, I think when things are meant to be, then you get, you get that reward. So it, it vow, Hey, I, I am on the right path, you know? So what a great experience and what, and when was that?

Megan (: 07:06

Uh, that was probably about 2016 there about, yeah.

Coila (: 07:10

Okay. And then is that before you started going, um, to the different events?

Megan (: 07:16

in about it, all of that like: 2014

Coila (07:39):

And then, and then you took a break, is that right?

Megan (: 07:42

Coila (07:43): For a break.

Megan (: 07:44

Yeah. So a couple things happened. Um, I, I actually, I had done my financials for the year and I was like, okay, this is something I can do. And I like made a plan so that in three years I was gonna quit my job and do art full time. And um, I started feeling I, well, I had been having some issues with my health for a while and doctors had just kept telling me like, you're fine. All your blood work looks great. Nothing's going on with you? You know? And I, and it's interesting when you have, um, a chronic illness and tell like the symptoms are really bad, you're really like can kind of doubt yourself . And so I spent several years just kind of like, okay, maybe this is in my head. Maybe I just am lazy or maybe, you know, like all these things, maybe my pain threshold is low or whatever.

Megan (: 08:33

And so the sickness kind of started mounting and I, I married at the time and my ex-husband was, was in a skateboarding accident and had a traumatic brain injury. And I mean, obviously everything had to go on hold for that because he, I mean, he had brain surgery. Like I remember driving in the middle of the night, barely getting any service out on these back roads. In fact, my priest, I went to this church and I could not find anybody to drive me. And I was obviously not in the state to drive myself. And finally I called, um, my church had two priests and, um, I called called one of them, um, Kirsten. And I was like, is there any way you can drive me to Texas because you know, this happened and she just stopped everything and drove through them. The middle of the night drove me to Texas, but in the middle of like these back roads and there's no service and the, the neurologist is calling me, like asking me if I wanna approve brain surgery, you know, like it was just this crazy experience.

Megan (: 09:27

And so I put everything on hold. I had a really big commission at the time. It was for a ranch and it had, I, it was for five of their stallions, their head and neck, um, that they had commissioned. And I called him. I was like, you know, this is gonna be late. And after that, it just kind of slowed down it. And then I think it was, it, it was after, after he had the brain injury and then he got kind of, you know, more stable and I started painting again, but my sickness started getting worse and I having joint pain, I'd wake up in the morning and like, if you're like me and you're like, look at your phone in the morning, you know, and my elbows would hurt, like holding my phone. And I was getting brain fog really bad. I would like sit down to paint and I literally didn't know how to, like, I would, I would even force myself to put paint on the pallet and I would look at it and I would look up at the painting be like, I don't, because the way I paint is very

intuitive and my brain has to be working for that conversation, with the painting to float and there it wasn't there.

Megan (: 10:26

And I just literally didn't know how to do it. And then, so finally, after a long ordeal, I ended up getting diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Luckily, you know, I got a really good rheumatologist and they bought me on medication and I was able to, you know, start feeling better. But yeah, so that kinda slowed me down for a little bit. And then I ended up not long after that, uh, getting a divorce and, and so it was just kind of a matter of rebuilding. And so, um, now I'm, I'm back at it again, you know, it just really nice sometimes life just can throw you some big curve balls.

Coila (: 11:01

Yes. Life can give you big curve balls. So that was not that long ago. So how long have you been painting

again? Um,

Megan (: 11:13

Yeah, so in like 2018, I start, I so are picking it up again more and I was in a gallery in, um, the arts district in Oklahoma city called the FAA, the POEO, I was in studio six, 10. So there's just this long history of this being this women's workspace. And, um, the art community knows about it and they come in a lot and there's some women in there that I swear if you ever watch PPV guess is, um, craft in America. They need to go in and interview them because it's, they're just so interesting. But so I was in there for a while and then I pulled out right before the pandemic hit. And so it was kind of just perfect timing. It was just like a thing for me that I needed to do just as a single person and trying to get my life built back up. And I was like, I didn't have enough space to work at home. And so I left, but then the pandemic hit, like I wanna say like two months after I left the gallery. So that was kind of wild,

Coila (: 12:11

So that, well, well, you've been busy during the pandemic. Yeah. You've been very busy. Um, you left a full-time job, you're painting full-time and, and then now you've started cowgirl artists of America. Mm- hmm . That is a big deal. Congratulations. And thank you.

Megan (: 12:33

And thank you for being a part of it too, on our report.

Coila (: 12:37

it's so great. I'm I hope, I hope that I can do it justice.

Megan (: 12:42

It's it's been interesting. It's been like, um, I feel like cowgirl artists of America is simultaneously the thing that I need and the thing that everyone needs and it's so kind, it's so cool. You know, like, because, um, um, such a great opportunity to meet really incredible people. And I'm, I'm really excited to be able to bring that community to everybody.

Coila (: 13:03

I am excited about it too. I think, um, I can see like, you're, I can see the, the people who are taking notice, you know, it's increasing and the, the different types of artists that are taking notice and people with different backgrounds in the art world, you know, are, are taking notice of what you're doing. So it's very exciting times. I am trying to think, you know, how you and I always have conversations. They kind of like they meander and I'm trying to be a little linear, but it's not easy for, for me. So, uh well,

Megan (: 13:38

Coila (13:39): No, go ahead.

Megan (: 13:40

Oh, I was gonna say one thing I did kind of skip over, um, and I, you and I had talked about this in our predis discussion, but, um, you know, I got my master's of art education and so I was teaching art. I taught art for like seven years, I think, at a school, a private school for kids with learning differences. And so it was really awesome, you know, organization to work for. Um, it's called Trinity school. It's an Oklahoma city and it's a great, a great school that serves kids that are really underserved and are really respectful manner, you know? Um, and so I loved that. That was awesome. And I think having it's so interesting, just the way that the things that we do in life can like culminate to be just what we need in the future. You know? And so like now with Cal artists of America, it's like, I'm seeing how all these like different things and some, even some things that were totally unrelated are like coming together have given me the skills that are helping to make this a possibility. And so it's really cool. Just looking back at how all those, how all those elements come together, which is something that I try to say a lot for cowgirl arts of America, you know, is brain gratitude to where you are in your artistic journey, because you can't get to where you wanna go without those steps. And, you know, you can't just rush through them. And they're so important down the road.

Coila (: 14:59

I agree. And I, um, we've talked about that before. Cause I think it was last conversation we had or two conversations ago. Um, I was noticing you're you have such a great, um, business sensibility. So I was asking you about that and where, and where that came from, you know, because you did, you've had, well, it's not listed on your bio, sorry, you're gonna have to blur this out but I started to talk about your, your pursuit of study lead, and then of course your photography, you have, you have quite, um, you have quite the life experience with, with, with your, you have quite the life experience and your bus different business and, um, studies.

Megan (: 15:47

Yeah, for sure. And I think honestly, photography, I really have to credit that with learning the business side of things, because after I graduated with my undergrad, I wanted to do photography and like portrait photography and eventually like wedding photography. And I did do some of it and it just was, it was never like really successful, you know, it was kind of just a side hustle that brought in some money here and there. And I did a couple weddings, but there are a lot of work and I didn't really enjoy all the editing and, you know, it's, they're stress, they're so stressful. Like if you have a camera, like your camera messes up, when they're kissing or something, you know, and you miss that moment.

Um, so the last wedding I did, I really enjoyed it and the images were just beautiful, but I was like, oh my gosh, I just don't know that this is the right thing for me, you know, but I was dead set on making that be successful.

Megan (: 16:40

And I, working on the photography business is when I realized that the business side is so important and photographers actually have a pretty wonderful, um, community available to them because a lot of people do photography and, and then there's like the professional photographers of America and the magazine that they put out. And there's just so much good information about the business side. And I made it, so I was working full-time as a barista with my art and degree, which was ridiculous, but, but the photography business, it was like, I made that a second full-time job. I would, I mean, I was ended up, I was working like 12 hours a day because I would just come home and I would read and I would absorb, and I learned how to make a website. And I learned about search engine optimization. Not as much as I should know, but I learned about it, you know, and all of this stuff. And it was like getting a business degree. I really do feel like that photography experience was like getting a business degree. And so it was totally worth it. Like even though the business itself didn't didn't pan out. And frankly, I would rather paint all day long than edit photos all day long. So this is, I would much rather be doing this than photography. I just think in my head, I thought it was more of a viable job and it wasn't for me, you know,

Coila (: 17:56

Interesting how we tell ourselves that, oh, this is the thing that will make us money to put on the back burner. The thing that our heart really wants to do, you know? And it's like, once you start at doing the thing that your heart wants you to do and you prioritize that, then everything else takes, I think, takes on a, um, it takes on the role it needs to take, you know, so it doesn't mean that everybody should go full time because our heart tells them to, but you should definitely listen to that poll and see like it, can I take the steps to make this happen? You know, is it

Megan (: 18:35

Yeah. And like, not being afraid of like, quote unquote failure, you know, like this idea that if whatever we do, isn't successful in the way we want it to be that it was like a waste of time or a wrong decision, but it wasn't, it was learning, you know, like mistakes. Uh, I actually, I just, don't always say this to my kids at school, but mistakes are proof you're trying and, and, and mistakes are also, it's like, life is like sketching, right? When you sketch, you don't erase all of the lines that you messed up because they guide you for where the line needs to go. You use that for the next line. And so it's not about like making a perfect line. It's about making adjustments as you're going.

Coila (: 19:14

Ooh, that's good. That's really good

Megan (: 19:18

Insight when it happens.

Coila (: 19:20

That is where that, that's what happened to me when I came up. Like when I, cuz I've been thinking about perfect versus magic, the same thing, it's just like this came from nowhere. It was meant to be, you know, it's meant to be,

Megan (: 19:32

Except it didn't, it came from within all the things that you've been learning. Right? Like it just came up

from all your experiences.

Coila (: 19:39

It does. And, and so I'm gonna lead from like what you just said about like the, the line informing the next line, um, in your bio, um, you take an intuitive approach to painting and your emphasis on color causes a viewer to bypass perceptual shortcuts and question their assumptions. Um, yeah. Yeah. I, I, is that weird to hear it out loud, to hear somebody say that?

Megan (: 20:04

Well, only because I always think I need to edit that out, but I can't bring myself to at least at this point because it really is, is true to my work. And I can't think of another way to say it, but you know, like when you're, when humans are tiny little babies or any animal is a tiny little baby, you know, like every single thing, their brain is having to make connections, to understand light and heat and dark and warm. And like all of these things color like the brain is, is having to make the connections to understand that, think about a little kid walking, you know, like when they first learn how to walk, they, their body and brain is having their brain is having to think about every single movement that they're trying to make. And our brain makes all of these shortcuts so that we can be faster, but our brain doesn't just do that with our physical body.

Megan (: 20:52

Like it does it with its own perceptions as well. And so there's things like we grow up learning or an assumption we make or whatever we do that. I think we do that with like animals. And so where I come with my paintings in our history, we have, and scientists told us that animals don't have emotions. You know, they're just like machines and anybody who's had a dog or a horse for that matter, like knows that that's not true. Animals have emotions. And even the fact that scientists ever like promoted this idea is just beyond me because is what are emotions, they're chemicals, you know, like oxytocin and, uh, dopamine and all of these things that make us feel the things that we feel. And what does a, what does a, a mother cow produce when she has a baby? It's the same exact chemical that human women produce when they have a baby it's a bonding hormone, you know?

Megan (: 21:46

And so my paintings, while they are, are an animal and they're colorful and interesting and the color I hope brings people in, but there's also a story behind them. So like this painting, I'm gonna turn my, that painting of this bison. Um, it's called, this is me. And after I painted it, I didn't know what it was about. And I don't like to name my paintings until I know what they're about. And this one I didn't. And I sat, I think I sat with it for like a month. All I knew was this bison had been through some trauma essentially and had come out on the other side, braver and stronger and more at peace and more confident and more self assured. And that's all I knew and wonders the looking at it. I was like, oh my gosh, that is a self-portrait . And so, you know, it's these, uh, you know, these animals that have lives that they experience and that we are connected to them

Coila (: 22:42

Because you are a Western artist, Western and wildlife artist. And so you have touched on the, and having that human connectedness and, and with the ranching, you tell me, tell me more about the ranching and, um, cowboy artwork.

Megan (: 23:01

Yeah. So I don't know if you know, um, Mandy Frank, um, her Instagram is Mandy Frank Wao. Um, she's a photographer and the, for first painting I did, which is the big cowboy painting on my website is of her husband. And she had books, you know, posted this photo and I messaged her and I was like, oh my gosh, I really like this, you know, can I paint this? And she was very Don and let me paint it. And, and that piece, I really, um, you know, I really like that piece. And then she actually posted another piece of her daughter. I asked if I could paint it. And so I painted that also. And when I was painting the one of her daughter, I wanted to team up with different photographers or like, um, you know, Western lifestyle influencers on Instagram or whatever, um, to team up, to do a series called women's work and do paintings of women, you know, doing work on the ranch.

Megan (: 23:50

Um, because again, just like with art, like women, don't always get the same level of representation. And it's very interesting. It's kind of the dynamic of sexism is interesting in different spaces. And so what I love about out the Western world is that you look outside and if you see a woman out there roping a steer, like there's no doubt about it. She's out there roping the steer. Like if you see a woman up at 5:00 AM with everybody else feeding the horses, like, you know, she's out there doing the work. And so it's, it's an, in this interesting and dynamic of seeing women doing that same work, right beside the men and like world, maybe not recognizing that, you know, like not seeing that work that's being done. And so I like that idea of, um, of, of creating more representations. You know, the, um, the show that I cite in our first blog on our, on cowgirl arts of America, uh, is about its title.

Megan (: 24:49

The Western, the Western art world has a problem with representation, but it talks about the statistics of the show. And even within the paintings and the art themselves, women were most often represented either young or based on their beauty or they were cooking or with a child or with a man. Like there was only, I think I might be wrong on this, but I'm not far off. I think there was one painting of a woman and a horse, just, she was just an awesome cowgirl . And, um, there was one with a woman and a man with their horses, but like women then even in these prestigious art shows, women are not being portrayed as these hard working women. I mean, not to say that, you know, cooking and taking care of kids is not hard work. Cause it certainly a hundred percent is, but they're always portrayed in like this domestic space rather than like doing the things that they're doing, you know, like out there, training horses and roping cattle and doing all of that stuff. And so we have this whole narrative of what the west looks like visually in our Western art that does not fit reality.

Coila (: 25:57

That's needy. I see, like in my community here in my, in, I live in a Western community, a small little agricultural town and there are definitely like lots of women out there. Um, I think about, I think about them so much. Like they're, they're juggling it all. Like they've got the kid, they've got the, the, their child, their newborn child in the backpack. So they can like help doctor the cows and rope the cows and they're riding the horses and they, they are doing it all and it's, and they're staying in shape and they're

cooking and they're doing all, they're doing it all. Um, it's pretty, it is pretty impressive. And I, as I was listening to you talk, I was thinking about the different, um, artists that I know and how they portray, um, the figures. And I was trying to, like, I was going back in the archives to every other art show that I've ever been to and what is being portrayed. I haven't given that a lot of thought, you know, even though I do see all the horror working women around me, um, it's kind of interesting. You are making me think this is all I'm getting at. You're making me think about the women I know in real life. And have I seen them portrayed, um, at the different things I've been to. And I think, yeah, you're right. Not a lot. I haven't seen it very much

Megan (: 27:22

Well, and it's, it's interesting too. Like, so this morning, one of my like wake up rituals for better or worse, probably worse, but it's the way I wake up. I, I check up my Instagram and my email in bed, cuz it gives me a chance to wake up and I'm still all cozy. Um, and so I was looking this morning and I was trying to find, you know, more women Western artists to follow for on our cowgirls, to the American Instagram page. And I went to this to the discover page and I would click on Western paintings like very Western and nine times out of 10, 9.9 times outta 10, they were men over and over again. And then when a woman would show up, she was painting flowers and there's nothing wrong with painting flowers, but what is the algorithm doing? And even if the algorithm isn't designed to be biased, it's designed to pick up on human engagement and then human engagement can be inherently biased.

Megan (: 28:16

And then the algorithm becomes biased. And it's the same with Spotify. I have a friend who's, um, musician and I have put in on Spotify like Bandari radio and it'll play three men before it plays her. And it will hardly play any other women. And at the end of the day, if we, I think everybody can acknowledge that women were not given an equal shake in the past. Like even if you are on the fence about whether sex and equality is happening today, like you understand like women didn't even have the right to vote until a hundred years ago, you know, like it's very obvious when we come, when that's the history and we come from that, even if there's no longer. So like take these shows where there's not good representation of women, even if there's no ill intent by the, the directors and the, um, show.

Megan (: 29:12

I can't think of the curators or whoever, even if there's no ill intent, there's no conscious desire to keep women out. Just the fact that the art, our art history has been bias in the past, promotes that in the future, unless we are conscious about changing it. Because if you have had the last 20 years of shows that we're focused on men and you're going back to the people who have been in the shows before, as either calling them back or you're going back to them for referrals, you're calling on a, uh, a baseline that was in itself bias. And so there's that aspect of like, we have to be conscious, which I want to with cowgirl arts of America, once we get a little more established, I do want to create, um, things that will help organizations because sometimes legitimately people are like, we don't get women applying and we don't know why, you know, or we don't know how to fix this.

Megan (: 30:03

Like, we don't want it to be unequal. Like we want women in these shows, but we don't know how to get them. And so that can be a problem. But a lot of times it's recognizing, and one thing I really, if anybody's listening to this, please, if you only take one thing away from it, take away, this is that we have to be thoughtful and conscious in what we consume. And that means when we go into a gallery

and we see that there's only one women for every 10 men that we like either mention it to the gallery, the curator, or the gallery owner, like, Hey, where are, do you have more women art, female artists? Or like whenever we share work, you know? So when I was teaching art, statistically men, male artists get te taught all the time. Think if you say, Hey, name five classic artists or five artists, like almost, almost always, they're gonna name men.

Megan (: 30:54

And when you think about like, oh, who are we gonna teach? We're gonna teach Vango and Picasso and Picasso, by the way, was a huge, a hole. Like he was horrible. He said, horrible, horrible things about women, just all of these people and not to deny that they're the men that we're teaching. You know, the art are not talented for sure they're talented like this, but where are the women, you know, cycle that keeps going and going and going. And so we have to bring conscious thought to it. I saw a gallery the other day that shared a carousel host of I on their Instagram of artists that they were representing and not a single one of the approximately seven, eight artists were female. And they had female artists in their gallery, but they didn't put any of them on this carousel, you know? And so being mindful am, am I supporting organizations that are not promoting equal representation? Am I myself not promoting equal representation noticing on Instagram? Like when the algorithm shows you male artists after male artists, after male artists, after male artists, and then there's a female and she's painting flowers, like thinking like what, what is this? So bringing conscious thought to how we are as consumers,

Coila (: 32:01

I've been thinking for a while, like what makes female artists different than male artists? Like, is it design, aesthetic technique application? You know, like what does make a difference? And so it makes me wonder if, um, if that has informed our as well, you know, like how we navigate through, through social media.

Megan (: 32:31

Oh, I'm sure that it has to some degree like taught us, which for a long time, you know, uh, women, maybe weren't didn't have access to our education in the same way that men did whenever they were like studying under masters and things like that. And so if they're painting at home or doing more domestic, like decorative arts, you know, that would inform the ways in which that they knew how to create. And then now the thing that I think is interesting is most of the more contemporary works in Western art that I can think of, most of them are either women or native artists. And so it's kind of interesting to see. Um, and of course, maybe I'm just not seeing the, the artists who are male that are painting that, but mostly it's women or native artists that I've seen that are like taking these brighter colors and going this direction. Well, Phil L I think he uses some bright colors and definitely like more of a contemporary approach to his work, but there's a lot of, yeah. I, I just find it interesting cause I think ultimately that's the way a lot of Western art is going is to this more contemporary style. So it'll be interesting to see how it, how it plays out.

Coila (: 33:36

It will be interesting to see how it plays out. How long have you been living in, uh, Yosemite?

Megan (: 33:45

Uh, a little over a year now. We moved here in February of 2021. And that has been obviously incredible.

Coila (: 33:53

I bet, I bet. Now do you get to go out in the, in the park there and do a lot of photography with your

photography background? Like how is that for you to get out there and, and capture images?

Megan (: 34:05

Yeah. You know, it's kind of funny, like two of my lenses, the auto focus broke not long after getting out here and my camera broke, so I've been kind of trying to replace some of my equipment. Um, but when I first got out here and I really wanna start doing this again, cause it was so good for my soul, but I would go out every morning and walk for one to two hours and just take my camera and I would walk and I'd watch the light climb up over the walls of the valley. And it was just so beautiful and the FLIR B Bobcats out, you know, and I'd take pictures and it, it was really like ju oh my gosh, especially that time. It was just exactly what I needed. You know, it was, it felt so good lately. I have been so busy that I don't always get outside and that is a tragedy, like I really need to, I think once I get, you know, every time when we say after this, after this, this probably means we're not going to, but I do truly after I get past our launch for Cal roller of America, I really want to start trying to reprioritize that, that time of getting out and being in nature and not sitting on, I mean, I can still, my couch all day long working the computer makes there's endless things you can work on.

Megan (: 35:20

And right now I haven't even been able to paint because I, and so focused on working on stuff for CAA. So it's it really, you know, and right now is a time sometimes there's seasons, right? That we need to pour a whole lot into one area and it has been that, but I think, you know, it's get it, it's getting all that stuff ready. And then once we get our launch going, it's gonna slow down on that side and I can get back to being out in nature and, and getting to enjoy the, I mean, like literally I can look out my back window and see the largest waterfall in north America. And some days I don't see it, like, that's ridiculous. You know,

Coila (: 35:57

That is ridiculous. What in the world? Yes. You need to do that before you get on your phone.

Megan (: 36:05

Yeah. I need to make some good, good habits about getting outside and it's so good for you, you know, it's like so good, but yeah, life is so fragile and precious and there's beauty, no matter where you are getting outside and appreciating it is like, that's not something we're gonna regret. ,

Coila (: 36:25

It's a big gift to be able to go outside. So, um, I saw on your personal account, you, you did show a little

video of, um, the night, the evening,

Megan (: 36:37

Coila (36:38):

They're off your deck. So that was really nice to share that. What do you, what else would you like people to know about cowgirl artists of America?

Megan (: 36:46

Yeah, so cowgirl artists of America is really unique because if you've been in the art world for art world for very long, you know, that there are a lot of things that the only option for you to be a part of them is to get Jud in. And there is something to be said for that. And we do have an aspect of that within our organization. Um, it is really important to show really, really high caliber work. Especially whenever you have a group that's not being represented, you know, to show like, Hey, look at this. On the other hand, there are a lot of people who are getting started or who need help, who didn't have access to formal or informal education. Um, and there are a lot of artists who have no idea that they need to be business minded and it holds them back.

Megan (: 37:36

And CAA believes that edge education is one of the things that is going to help bridge this gap. Because if we can help women understand how to run their business, if we can help women understand that they need to be like mindful of the ways in which that they're doing things and that they, whatever it is, offer them the support that they need, that's gonna help them to become more successful in the field. And so by educating people, we reach our mission and we can't educate people if we can't let them in . And so, you know, like cowgirl artists of America is open and you can see all of the details on our website, but open for new artists to join. They're not gonna be a signature member. They're not gonna have their work. And even our social media pages, you have to submit your work to get promoted on the page.

Megan (: 38:27

And it's, it has to reach a certain level. Like you're not, if you're just starting, probably you're not gonna be able to get onto the page. And that's okay again, like embrace that part of your journey, but we still wanna be there for you and we wanna help you. And so there's that aspect of cowgirl artists of America that makes it different. I also think a lot of art organizations can be very, um, in competition. They, you know, you feel like you're in competition with one another. And again, there are elements of CAA that have competition to them. But at the end of the day, we believe in building a community of people and in a mindset of abundance that tears down, you know, walls that keep people from really embracing one another. And we believe in a sisterhood, you know, we don't believe in this aspect of, there's not enough to go around.

Megan (: 39:15

And so we have to fight against each other. No, when I help you rise as a female artist, that helps all of us rise. Like when we help the art world, we're helping the whole art world. When we help female artists, we're helping all female artists and there. And if we have this constant mindset that we are in competition with one another, there's no authenticity in that, you know, there isn't. And then the last ask aspect about CAA that I think is really important is that there is this mission of bridging this gap of representation. And it's not just about within our group, it's about creating resources for organizations, for galleries, for shows that they can use to check, do a checklist, like let see their numbers. They might be appalled if they realize, like, I think, you know, if, if this one exhibit maybe was like, oh my gosh, we only have 9% women. I have no idea, you know, cause people don't think about it. And so if we create these resources that people can use when they're planning their shows and when they're doing their shows and when they're opening their galleries or whatever, like that's another aspect to all of this.

Coila (: 40:20

So going back to collaboration, you have a couple of collaborations coming up. Isn't that right?

Megan (: 40:26

Yes. One of them we can't talk about yet.

Coila (: 40:29

Megan (40:30):

hang it. Yeah. So if you're listening to this, uh, if you happen to catch our Instagram live on Tuesday, um, um, Western gallery, Georgia Irwin, who owns Western gallery is teaming up with us and we are going to do a cowgirl artist of America art show next February. So, woo. Yeah. We're very excited about that. We're gonna work on getting some sponsors and things like that. Um, there are some other collaborations actually in the works that I can't talk, talk about yet, cuz it hasn't been finalized. Um, but definitely I'll be announcing them on Instagram and stuff as they occur. But I just wanna make sure not to jump the gun or like, you know, right. There's some pretty big collaborations that I think will be really exciting.

Coila (: 41:13

Well, surely people that are signed up for your newsletter will find out that news first

Megan (: 41:17

They will, long as they've told their email server to put it in their primary mailbox. Cause Gmail especially

has been filtering her emails into spam and promos and stuff lately. So, so bumming, I got an

Coila (: 41:30

Email today from a client that was in my junk folder and it was a response that I had sent them. Right. Like I initiated the email and it went to my junk, their response. I was like, what in the world two weeks ago. Wow. That's crazy. So, okay. So you have a collaboration coming up with George Irwin from, uh, Western gallery and you have a few other things in the work that we cannot talk about. Um, course, um, applications to submit to become a member is May 1st through the 15th. You guys have to get on that. Oh,

Megan (: 42:04

I didn't really wanna like stress this. So there's the basic founding level member that you don't have to get juried into, but you will have your name listed as a founding member for, for the life of the organization on a public page. But if you come in as a founding plus signature member, so signature members have to be juried in, you have to submit work and things like that. If you come in on that and you get accepted your headshot, three images of your work links to your social media and links to your website are going to be on that same page for the life of the organization. And so it's really cool. Um, so yeah, if you're listening and you know, your artist, friends that are established, like spread the word because this is not, it's not happening again. And even if we have one founding member, that's a signature member, like they're the ones on that page. Like it's, it's just a pretty big deal. And I know people are gonna come back later on and be like, how do I get on that page? And we're gonna have to be like you can't

Coila (: 43:00

No. And you, and there's quite a few resources on, on here. I mean you've spoken to business and um, education there's courses and coaching. And of course there's a podcast and um, there's, there's lots of great on here. Um,

Megan (: 43:17

Coila (43:18): Any

Megan (: 43:19

There's private member only pages too, so you can actually see them in the, in the like dropdown menus, but you can't click on them cuz they're password, um, their password protected, but there are, there's like a section about how to help you write your artist statement. There's a section on helping you with confidence and speaking about your art there's oh my gosh. The call to art calendar. Honestly, the call to art calendar saved my tissue this week because I was like working on the website and I integrated the calendar into the website and saw that there was a deadline for a on that day. And so I just like dropped everything and did my application. And so that calendar is gonna be such a valuable resource and it's something, all of these resources are things that we're gonna be updating. So there's gonna be more and more. Um, but the call for our calendar has the event dates, reminders about the deadline. And so like, it, it, you can go in and look at April and be like, oh, I need to apply for this, this and this. And so that's super helpful cuz it's all just in one place

Coila (: 44:24

That is super helpful. I love calendars. So this is all so good. Megan, as Megan, the artist, not as Megan, the founder of cowgirl artists of America, do you have any advice to our listeners? Um, as one pursues, a life in the arts?

Megan (: 44:45

I really think probably one of the biggest things. And it's like, I've said, you know, a million times is appreci where you are on the journey because I personally am at a point where I really love the style and the work that I do. Um, it's not for everyone and that's okay. Like you could tell me it's a piece of like crap and I would be like, okay, cool. You know, like it's just not for you because that's how confident that I feel in what I'm doing. And I think getting to that point was really hard. I think having confidence in your work and what you're doing as an artist, it is, it's just one of the hardest things, but you get there by doing the work and sometimes that takes years and that's okay. And so being, being flex and open, um, to the journey and to the experience I think is invaluable in bringing gratitude to every moment and that just in life bringing, if you can bring curiosity instead of judgment to yourself and whatever it is, you're gonna do a lot better because when we hammer ourselves down, down with shame, like we can't do very much, you know, like then we just feel bad about ourselves and our art, all of the things, you know?

Megan (: 46:01

And so if we make a mistake, whether it's life or art, you know, like bringing curiosity and compassion into that and, and, and just let go of the judgment for sure. If there's an issue, fix it like in your life or in your art, you know, fix it, do what you can to fix it. But don't man just love yourself and love other people, you know, it makes life so much better.

Coila (: 46:22

It does. It does indeed. Um, so I've got two more for you. Is that okay? Yeah. Um, do you have any books that you recommend for somebody who is interested pursuing art? Um, somebody who's never, who's like, gosh, I think I'd like to be a, a painter or a sculptor or, or a creative. Is there any, a book that you recommend?

Megan (: 46:44

Honestly, I would recommend business books. Oh, like there are some, there's some good art books and I'll probably do a bookshelf on CA's website, but think like artists, one of the biggest things, and maybe this is advice too, but one of the biggest things that holds artists back is not being good at business. You have to be good at business and you either have to be good at marketing and promoting your work or you have to pay somebody to do it. And if you can, if you can learn that, like you can be a mediocre really successful artist, if you're good at business or you could be broke and the best artist in the world, if you're bad at business. And so reading books about just about business or about making money books or, or blogs or whatever, there's just so much good information, you know, I used to like devourer entrepreneurial magazine um, so yeah, anything businessy marketing read it.

Coila (: 47:36

Okay. That's good advice. Um, and clearly that is something you've definitely had in mind with CAA. So we'll be learning more of that as, as the, the program, as a organization. So my final question is it's kind of a fun one. Um, and so FA I think it's a fascinating one to ask is based on all your time, outdoors and time with the animals, is there any one experience that stands out to you? Like something like really, like maybe you witnessed some, something really magical, a miracle or something?

Megan (: 48:10

Uh, yeah, there's a couple that come to mind, but one of the most incredible experiences I've ever had is I, the first horse I trained, he was a POA and I had him trained where I could ride him with nothing at all on him. Like he would steer by my feet. I mean, I could make him go into water down creeks, like ravines, whatever. I pick him, do whatever. And I was in high school and we rented this big ranch property. Like we lived on it and it was very expensive. So we, there was a roommate and the roommate had a boyfriend who was a stock contractor and he put all of his big rangy Mustang looking, bucking horses out on our pasture. And I was riding my little pony out in this big old is, I mean, it wasn't, he just like 40, 50 acre pasture, nothing on him, no bridal, no halter, no, nothing, nothing on this horse, riding him around.

Megan (: 49:02

And this herd of bucking horses takes off running. And so I just like kicked my horse up and got right in the middle of them. I mean, right in the middle, I know I'm just running with them. No bridal, you know, and it was just, it, it was incredible. I mean, it felt like being one of those horses. I mean, it kind of gives me chills thinking about it to this day, um, because it was just so cool, but scary experiences. This I, this is terrifying, but when we moved out here, so my partner is a rock climber and I am a hesitant rock

climber. Like basically I only climb because of him and just to hang out with him because I like hanging out with him, but I don't particularly love climbing. And it scares me. I like some types of climbing, but not out here, like out here is very intimidating and it's really hard.

Megan (: 49:54

Um, but we went to this one area and it had been kind of, we had just had reasons at every place where, why we couldn't climb and just kind of getting kind of frustrating. And we got to this one area and he started climbing it and he said, the rock quality just didn't feel very good. He didn't really trust it to be super stable. And so he had taken a picture of the guidebook on his phone and he is like looking at the guidebook and I start hearing this sound. Now, mind you we've hiked up to this area. And then it's a huge rock wall above us. I mean, you can't even see the top of it. You know, it's very big and what's below us. There's like maybe like th 20 yards of like flat gravelly area. And then it's pretty strong, like downhill after that with like scrubby trees and boulders and, and gravel.

Megan (: 50:44

And it's not super stable and, and there's is a huge, huge rock fall actually here in this area a while back. Um, but so I start hearing something and I'm like, what is that? And I look up and I see a little pebble come over the edge and, and Pete is still looking at the guidebook and I have anxiety and I'm like, okay, I know I have anxiety. He's still looking at the guidebook. It's probably okay. Like I'm doubting myself, you know, well then more rocks start falling over the edge. And I was like, um, rocks are falling. And like, literally as that is coming outta my mouth, this huge Boulder, like minimum of three or four feet wide comes and it didn't come rolling down the edge. It went fly through the air. I mean, like a catapult, like flying through the air. And it was like this moment of just pure, there was no mental thought to it.

Megan (: 51:37

Like brain stem took over and I just turned around and started running down the hill and I could hear rocks falling behind me. And I was literally like, I, I did just hope that I don't pin get pinned under a rock and die slowly. Like I just knew I was going to die. So he was running beside me and we get going down a little ways and I trip and I just like, kind of like, like, it was one of those trips where like totally kind of flew into the air for a second. And this mans Anita tree, which I already love man's Anitas. But now they're like my, my little special, like, you know, like this man's Anita tree, I swear it caught me like a hand across my chest from falling. And I would've been significantly injured. Had I fallen in this area and it caught me. And just about that time, the rock star stopped falling. And so we were able to go back and get our seven come down. And I, I still have a little bit of PTSD from it periodically. Like the other day I was in the house and a he or a plain flu too close, and it made this crazy sound. And I had to like fight the impulse to run barefoot to the middle of the valley because it just triggers that like it was tear. I was terrified

Coila (: 52:51

oh my gosh, these two polar opposite situations that for some people being in a pack of wild Mustangs, you know, would be equally as terrifying. And you were like, I'm gonna take my horse, the middle of it. That's incredible. That's incredible. oh my gosh. Well, Megan, um, I have really enjoyed this conversation and I hope, um, I hope that the listeners have two I'm so excited to get, to have this early start in our, our friendship and relationship, um, together with Calgary artists of America. Um, every time, I talk to you. It feels, it feels so nice. It feels so comfortable and, and you make that very easy to do so. Thank you. Um, thank you for inviting me to be a part of this, this group, this growing

organization. And I'm very excited about the, of it. Um, I'm excited that I get to have a chance to be on the board and, and a founding member.

Coila (: 54:07

I can't wait to fill out my application. Um, as I mentioned, I'm not really a member of anything, so this is such a huge step for me. So people, if you're whoever's out there listening, just know that like I take these things very seriously. And so, um, , I think the only other group I've ever been a member of was a portrait society and I let it fall away, not on purpose, but I plan to resume that. But, um, but this is like, this is a big deal. I'm I'm very excited. So anyway, I'm rambling. I'll stop now.

Megan (: 54:42

Well, thank you so much for being a part of it for real, like you've so much value and insight, and I really, really appreciate that. And for coming and doing this interview with me so that, you know, our followers can get, get to know me a little better too.

Coila (: 54:56

Yes. I hope it's helpful. Um, I hope I ask all the questions that you might all be thinking like, well, what about this? Or what about that? And, and if you do just know that Megan is so wonderful and she'll respond to you, or if you have questions for me, don't hesitate to reach out to me. And I'll, I probably can't answer them very well because I'm still learning about, you know, CAA, but, um, I will direct you to Megan and, um, don't hesitate to reach out.

Megan (: 55:24

Cool. Well, thank you so much, Colin.

Coila (: 55:27

Thank you. Have a good day.

Megan (: 55:29

Speaker 3 (55:30):

I hope you enjoyed this episode with koala Evans interviewing me Megan Wemberley. Don't forget that our membership is opening up May 1st through the 15th. And if you apply and get into our signature membership level as a founder, you get your work displayed on a founding member page for the life of the organization. For more details about that, check out all of our information under become a member and the page cowgirl artist of America org.