Megan Oldhues
Toronto, Canada
Entranced by a life off the beaten path, Twenty four year old Toronto based artist, Megan Oldhues, has spent the last 8 years exploring societies’ underbelly. While developing a love for street art and graffiti in high school, she began to teach herself how to spray paint under bridges. Her unique perspective has since driven her to dive into works of realistic nature in unique spaces by blending her formal artistic interests with graffiti. Drawn to natural colour palettes, Meg’s work is often visually reflective of her own surroundings and pays tribute to the figures, objects and moments that encompass the human condition. She hopes to give weight to the seemingly insignificant by portraying the beauty an alternative view has to offer.
Mural Statement
“A pandemic, climate crisis and rising inflation. I’ve never been more broke. But I’ve also managed to gain a new insight into the beauty that occurs every day. Inspired by my recent experiences of transitioning primarily to biking, Inner City Summer is a peaceful testament to how today’s youth breathe life into their cities. The more time I spend on my bike, the more I notice the beauty of these minute interactions between individual and public space. Pockets of people in their own little world. Each like a beautiful painting. By portraying a young woman sprawled across the grass reading alongside her bike, my concept romanticizes a simple moment in time. It champions the beauty of individualism. How do we move through these spaces expressing ourselves from one stop to the next ? The woman pictured in the concept is a friend and an emerging artist who embodies a warm, confident, yet introverted energy. I see myself in her. I see my friends in her. She represents a universal mood I began to see on my solo bike rides. This piece is intended to be painted in an impressionistic style (loosely realistic). The warm greens and skin draw the eye and give greater emphasis on the young woman’s tranquil isolation and confidence. “