Meg Corcoran is an American artist and illustrator whose work exemplifies a passion for color and the joy in the quotidian. She works in an array of analog media including watercolor, gouache, acrylic, oil, colored pencil, collage, and fibers.

“Play has an important role in my creative process. Play builds confidence with materials and allows for low-stakes problem-solving. When the canvas is too big and too blank, go to the junk pile or the bag of wool and make something that makes you laugh. I have hundreds of plastic eyeballs just waiting to transform an inanimate object into a cartoony creature. Once I unshackle myself from the serious business of ‘art making’ I feel free to invent and experiment. The prospect of making a mistake loses its claws.

I have battled anxiety and depression since the age of 6. There were whole school years in which I cried daily (and not just as a student.) There were whole years during which I was too afraid to even go into my studio, believing that the pain of failing to create a perfect piece of art was too much to overcome. In spite of these mental hurdles, I am joyful and optimistic. I shed my angst and loneliness when I paint. I found the courage to paint daily because I started painting daily.

I want to cheer people on and lift them up. No one should feel stuck in the muck of their own fears and self-doubt. When I make things that make me smile, I am removing the threat of differences, distance, the unknown. If I can laugh at my art, so can you.”

Meg was featured on MPR’s Art Hounds in 2020.

Meg’s work has been displayed by the following galleries and venues:
Walrus (Mpls)

Gallery 360 (Mpls)

Ryder Gallery (Mpls)

Art-a-Whirl (NE Minneapolis)

i like you (Northeast Minneapolis)

Upstate MN (Grand Marais, MN)

Joy and Company (Grand Marais, MN)

Allee (Saint Paul)

Craftstravaganza (Saint Paul)

The Artists’ Emporium (Downtown Des Moines)

Firehouse Gallery (Sherman Hill, Des Moines)