Having an art piece created by MEG is a Mission District rite of passage.
“Since I was a little girl I loved to paint,” said local artist MEG, who also goes by Ms. Meg. “I’m sleeping and I am dreaming that I am painting. I wake up and I have my canvas ready to go and I begin.”
Her debut show, “Fiesta de Vida y Colores: A celebration in paintings,” is now on display at the Juan R. Fuentes Gallery until May 11. Inside the gallery, more than 50 of MEG’s pieces cover four walls from top to bottom. Thematically, MEG’s work embraces motherhood, nature and El Salvador. You’ll find lush forests, mothers cradling their newborns, fish swimming and birds flocking together in a harmonious reunion. Her vivid and colorful works look like they peel out of a picture book.
MEG came to the U.S. in the 80’s. “In El Salvador, I had a boutique where I sold clothing. I had my own house and my own business. I came over because if I didn’t come with my sons the war would have robbed me of them,” said MEG. Like many new arrivals from Central America, coming North was a survival instinct. Making a home in the Mission District, however, was a choice to be near a pueblo of our people, culture and art.
“The birds in the sky are close to God,” said MEG. “One day, I went to Golden Gate Park and there was a bluebird. I had some nuts and I started calling the bird, ‘Come bluebird, come bluebird, come.’ The bird was in a tall tree and it flew down and ate the seeds I had from my hand. Isn’t that so beautiful? … The bird heard me, from so high, from so far.”
MEG raised three boys by herself in San Francisco, including local muralist Josué Rojas. “She sold everything that she owned and left everything that she knew to raise us here,” said Rojas. “She has been my hero and inspiration. If not by her painting ability, but by the way she lives her life and her independence.”
MEG and Josué worked together on the curation and direction of her debut exhibition. As people passed by the gallery’s big front-facing window, they stopped, placed their hands around their eyes and leaned on the glass to watch the duo at work. “The most interesting thing is that my teacher is Josué,” said MEG. “When he calls me he says, ‘Paint Mamá, paint.’”
It’s not uncommon to find them painting murals together in San Francisco. “We support each other a lot,” said Rojas. “As long as it’s on a huge lift or on the ground floor, she comes and supports me. That has been a training ground for her painting.”
The synergy is evident. The two artists are often working on the same idea, both attempting their own version. “She is one of my mentees,” said Rojas. “But I am one of her mentees in life. There’s always mutual support.”
Like many of us, MEG endured the quarantine by herself. The majority of her artworks in the show were created during her time spent in solitude. “This is an expression of love, light, and joy during lockdown,” said Rojas. “That was one of her prolific times. I made sure she had her meds, food, and fresh paint. To keep her mental health high.”
Capturing the small moments in life is MEG’s specialty. Her body of work feels like a homecoming after a long day of work. A warm plate of food to nourish your soul.
“Every single one of these paintings are like a child to me,” said MEG. “Every time I create a new art piece, something beautiful happens: I feel like I’m receiving therapy. No conozco la soledad.”
Fiesta de Vida Y Colores: A Celebration in Paintings is on view until May 11 and artworks are on sale at accionlatina.org