Exploring the Majesty of Mother Nature

Megan Carty is a Boston-based artist who infuses her paintings with a vibrant sense of positivity and a spirited palette of bold, energetic colors. Her latest collection, featuring sculptural paintings, celebrates the majesty of Mother Nature with vivid colors and marks inspired by the great outdoors.

The series, which is comprised of 21 paintings, is inspired by topographic maps. In each piece, Carty folds and manipulates raw canvas into mountains, valleys, lakes, and rivers as if seen from a passing plane. The canvas is dyed using acrylic inks, acrylic paint, and pencil. As visual inspiration, Carty refers to her numerous travels to Acadia National Park, Maine, and Portland, Maine where she grew up. She is moved by the numerous colorful ecosystems on display, from the tide pools to the freshwater springs and lush forests.

For the series, Carty states that she, “wanted to create my own unique take on the abstract landscape painting that felt chic and modern. I used colors and mark-making inspired by the coastline, the tide pools, the fresh-water springs, and the forests. The canvases have peaks and valleys that look like a topographic map from above. My dad was a cartographer in the Army and made elevation maps in Vietnam during the war. I suppose these are my love letters to him and to my home state.”