Meet Megan | Visual Artist & Muralist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Megan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Megan, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
When I started my business, I didn’t have an answer to this question. Over time, working on myself, going to therapy and using certain practices to help me handle my anxiety, I realized the message that I was creating was strongly influenced by mental health. Specifically my fascination with nature, florals and the human body. It wasn’t just because they’re beautiful subjects, but because they truly do work together simultaneously. To me, one is apart of the other. Noticing the intricacies of a flower, the color in an iris, looking up and realizing there is an entire universe out there, can really ground you. I think the subject of gratitude is something that can help a lot of people work through their mental health struggles, and I don’t mean, be grateful for your air conditioned house. I mean be grateful for the fact that we get to live on this incredibly creative planet, that somehow finds a way to be alive with colors you didn’t even know could exist, endless space and subjects that all grow on their own. And we get to experience it with all 5 senses every day? That’s truly a gift. My hope is that when you look at a painting by me, you feel that effect, that thought, that reminder. By sharing my work with the public, my audience has a chance to be immersed into that way of thinking and be offered a bit of relief from the chaos that is society.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
From what I hear, when you see my work there is always more to notice the more you look at it! Which is such a beautiful thing to have feedback about. My work is very surreal and ethereal, and I think it’s a product of my experiences and beliefs. Nothing is just ‘a pretty picture’, it all has a meaning from a time and place in my life. I think also because of this, it’s not everyones cup of tea or something everyone wants hanging on their walls. Sometimes I struggle to find where my art fits in this world, and it’s probably a special thing that it doesn’t, but I do find it harder to find projects where I get to have full creative control unless it’s my personal work – especially since I started muraling. However, the lesson I’ve learned is to continue making your own creations. Don’t let your entire career be about creating for other people and for the money. Yes, it’s necessary but always hide away some time to just let yourself flow and make you want to make. I think that’s how I’ve never grown tired of what I do, and it’s been 13 years.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
As a born and raised Fort Worth artist, I absolutely love all of the vendor markets that we have here in Fort Worth, The Rummage Sale, The Fort Worth Community Market, and even the larger ones like ArtsGoggle – which is where I got my start selling my work. My ideal day would be going to Magnolia and getting food at Maggie’s, listening to live music and then going to buy plants at the Ephemera Terrariums. South Main is right down the road as well, if you like champagne go by The Coupe, grab a glass and see my mural!

My fiancé and I stopped drinking back in 2024, and since then we’ve discovered Kava Culture in Alliance, The Kava Bar off Camp Bowie and Fool’s Kava in Arlington! Their community is unmatched and we’ve basically become family to be honest. If someone is looking for a non-alcohol alternative, I would highly recommend these places. Tell them we sent you!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I first have to give credit to my son, Noah. I had him when I was 18 and I truly don’t know if I would have taken myself seriously or given myself a chance to be an artist if I had not been in that situation at such a young age. Leaving him for 9-5 jobs was so painful. I had been creative and knew I loved drawing, but at that point in my life I knew I had to turn that creativity into a career so that I could be home with him. I owe the drive to motherhood.

I remember sitting on my moms couch at 18, with my newborn baby, right out of high school and my friends Casey and Leah discussing the idea to start selling my work. They were so all in and encouraged me to go for it, really the rest was history after that conversation. To my mom who helped me in those early years while I tried to figure things out financially, I know I wouldn’t have had the amount of space I had, without her saying ‘I know you can do this, what do you need from me?’ Every family member that asked me to paint a commissioned piece, every friend that blasted my work, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

And to my fiancé, Nathan, his full fledged belief in me truly keeps me going. Any idea, any submission, any project I go for – big or small – he is my number one cheerleader. Very literally jumping up and down saying I know you could do it! He never lets me believe the moves I’m making are small or insignificant.

Website: https://www.mlnart.shop

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meganleighnajeraart

Facebook: https://www.instagram.com/meganleighnajeraart

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/meganleighnajeraart