To gaze upon a painting by local artist Megan Myers is like looking through a window into another world. One inspired by nature, animals, and her audience she loves so much. Each painting tells a story, but not one with a single message. Instead, Myers paints with the goal of allowing each person to connect to their own story.
“My paintings don’t tell a full story, but I think in them you are caught in a moment where you don’t know what was going on before and you don’t know what will happen next,” says Myers. “I like to lay them out like that. I think art is a gift to an audience and I don’t want to define what they see, I want them to project their experience and come out of that moment feeling connected with their own story.”
A native Oregonian, Myers grew up in Medford an only child whose parents supported her artistic endeavors from an early age. After high school, Myers attended Seattle University, graduating in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Fine Art. “College was a great experience. Our learning was imbued with the question, ‘What’s the biggest thing you are going to do for the world with what you are studying?’ I began thinking about how I wanted to touch the world with art,” Myers reflects.
After college, Myers worked in public and cultural arts administration. In 2008, she became a project manager for Dale Chihuly, a world-renowned glass artist. “I worked there for five years and learned so much. It really informed what I am doing now, running my own business.” Myers moved to Portland in 2012 and worked as a sign maker for Trader Joe’s. “This job was like graduate school,” Myers says. “I spent seven hours a day just painting in the back of the store, and I just improved so much.”
An avid trail runner, Myers moved to Bend in 2015 to take advantage of the outdoor opportunities found here. It was at this time that she founded her business, Megan Marie Myers Art & Illustration. Myers truly began making a living as an artist.
“I’ve always used art as a way for me to connect with people, but also as a way to bring people together so that they feel connected to each other,” explains Myers. “Most of my subject matter is children, animals, nature… but they are more like symbols, not literal. It represents nature and our connection to the natural world around us. For me, the children in my work are representative of the child within us all.”
Myers notes that it’s easy, as we get older, to lose wonder. “We get into routines and patterns and obligations, and those things weigh us down,” she says. “I make art that sort of makes people remember those times in their lives when they were really awestruck or experiencing something for the first time, or connecting with something that wasn’t necessarily human, but is part of our world.”
For Myers, Bend was the perfect place to start her business. “When I first got here, I loaded up a wagon and pulled it downtown and asked shops to sell my art. It was amazing… Bend is overwhelmingly supportive of local businesses.” In turn, she believes in supporting local for her manufacturing needs and more. Myers' paintings are reproduced as stickers, postcards, prints, canvasses, calendars and puzzles.
Another passion project for Myers is the local running club for creatives she founded over two years ago, Creativity Shakeout. “I was looking for a way to create a space for artists to connect and share ideas and lift each other up. I read a story that research shows evidence that walking or running outdoors can clear creative blocks and open doors to imagination,” explains Myers. “I am so excited about this project. We meet on Tuesdays at 7 a.m. at Pioneer Park, creatives of all kinds, painters, writers, musicians, chefs, and more to run or walk, to share. The response has truly been mind-blowing.”
Myers gives back to her community as much as possible. She donates what she can to schools, auctions, and nonprofits. She is also committed to the environment and a proud business member of 1% for the Planet.
One of her favorite projects was creating three large murals for the local Ronald McDonald House. She has also illustrated two children’s books with local author, Lucas Alberg, the most recent of which, Good Morning, Mother Nature, was released in April 2024.
In December 2023, Myers moved her studio to The Workhouse. “It’s been the most magical thing. My paintings were in storage. At The Workhouse, they are on display, and I have this beautiful space to work that is open to the public seven days a week. This is a true collaborative community here.”
“There is no bigger gift than being able to do what I love. I’ve had a really tough year, and yet I still feel like I am one of the luckiest people in the world,” Myers shares. “I have found that connecting with other people and giving the gift of art is one of the most wonderful things in my life. What I do would not be fulfilling if others did not find meaning. It’s all a gift.”
MeganMarieMyers.com
“She taught me how life could be lived in
flash and sparkles
like a snapping campfire,
how even the smoke that lingers
could be exquisite.”
