ORDINARY JOY \\ inspired by Billy Collins' poem "Ode to Joy" as a reminder that we can find joy waiting for us anywhere. 5x7, 64.00

click here to Read the poem that inspired this work

HAWAIIAN CHICKEN \\ On a trip to visit my brother, I couldn't help but notice all the chickens running free both on the Big Island and Kauai. Finally the chicken in Moana made perfect sense! 4x4, 24.00

YOUNG SAM PEKU \\ My first flight ever was while I was in college. I flew to Kenya with a group for 3 weeks to spend time with children in orphanages there and in Uganda. We also stayed one night in a tent on safari, where the stars stopped me in my tracks. But the gem of this trip was our tour guide, Sam. With his British accent, he had us laughing for days at his stories...and the fact that he was cold in his long sleeves in 70° weather. 8x10

VISITING MY AUNT \\ Growing up, the drive from Georgia to my mom's sister's house in South Carolina was over an hour long. The tunnel of trees we drove through was a highlight for me and a sign that we were getting close. My dad's sister later moved to Beaufort, SC. Last time I visited, she took me to a similar lane of trees with Spanish moss on the Avenue of Oaks which inspired this painting. There really is a swing at a different spot on the lane, and I added a mansion I lived near in AL. 8.3x11.7, 184.00

 (The next 3 pieces were painted more as a set than the rest in this series.)

40-DAY ROAD TRIP \\ In 2012, my younger brother drove me to Alaska and back. The drive through the mountains of western Canada are what made me finally understand how some people could prefer the mountains over the ocean. The lakes and rivers had the most beautiful colored water but I was disappointed that they were too cold to swim in even in August! 4x4, 40.00

12 & A HALF YEARS \\ I came across the journal I kept when I first met my husband. I'd written about a couple who was only married for 12.5 years before they passed away. That sounded so horrible until I realized that 12.5 years with Tyler would be more full and fun than 50 years with anyone less. The first winter after we got married, we visited his hometown in Iowa. I got my first white Christmas and was able to ice skate on a frozen lake with him, a dream-come-true for this Georgia girl! 4x4, 40.00

LOOK UP WHEN THE SKY GROWS DARK \\ I've always been fascinating with having the privilege to fly when generations before us couldn't. This leads to me being unable to sleep because I'm too amazed by being above the clouds. So of course I prefer a window seat. On a trip to England with friends, I stared out the window for 5 hours watching the night sky put on a show. I was astonished that a hundred other people could be on the same flight with their eyes closed, not seeing a single shooting star. 8x8, 98.00

PHONELESS \\ I was born in Augusta, Georgia where they host The Masters Golf Tournament every year. That was always our spring break where we avoided the town as it was flooded with visitors from all over the world. But in 2016, I was invited to attend for the full week. No phones were allowed, but I could bring a camera for the practice rounds. I loved walking among the beautifully maintained grass and trees without a phone to distract me. This is a painting I did of the clubhouse. 6x6

SURROUNDED \\ Being surrounded can have good or bad connotations, depending on what you're surrounded by. Surrounded by cops ... probably not the best circumstances. Surrounded by loved ones...better, but might be because of a tragedy they're trying to help you through. Even being surrounded by desert doesn't sound that appealing. (Not to be confused with dessert, which would be amazing unless you're on a diet.) But for me, being surrounded by CA desert mountains has been a blessing. 5x9, 148.00

HANDWRITTEN \\ My grandma instilled in me a love for letters. She wrote to me like I was an equal even when I was eight. She asked about my life and told me all about her day with Grandpa. My mom and I had been going to the same beach for a decade when we noticed a book in the gift shop that had a mailbox at the beach on the cover. We mentioned it to the store clerk who informed us that it's a real place...you just have to walk a few miles to get to it! Now I go every year to reflect. A4, 184.00

meet the artist

Megan Starbuck loves using her creativity to share beauty, joy, and calm with others. She began painting with watercolor in 2022 when her husband's job sent him overseas. She has since painted on airplanes, trains, and buses, but her favorite place to paint is outside. She shares her watercolors on youtube @watercolorwithmegan

view the other artists who participated in this art challenge

I'm not the only one who just completed a gallery! View the rest here. If it isn't up yet, it should be in a couple of weeks.