She Travels, Writes, and Draws!

Traveling the world and illustrating her journey through a fashion/art lens has become the enviable career for this stunning young artist. Meagan partners with the world’s leading fashion, travel, and beauty brands to create projects at the intersection of fashion and travel, empowering dreamers and inspiring wanderlust. “I create custom artwork for various campaigns, surfaces, and installations for clients including: Dior, Montblanc, Lancôme, Emirates Airline , Harper’s Bazaar, Vanity Fair, and The Wall Street Jour- nal.” When Meagan isn’t globetrotting, you will find her at the easel in her Williamsburg studio, where LUX recently caught up with her.

HOW DO YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF AS AN ARTIST?

I’m classically trained as an artist and illustrator but I also bring a fair bit of my commerce degree and marketing back- ground into my art as well. I think a lot about not only what ful- fills me creatively in my artwork, but also what is going to reso- nate with my audience and broader commercial opportunities. I aim to transport and inspire with my art but also to help change the perception of a destination with clever and conceptual ele- ments integrated too. In general, my style is often described as whimsical, colorful, fashion-meets-travel wanderlust.

WHAT INSPIRES YOUR WORK MOST?

Travel is without a shadow of doubt, the lifeblood of my creative process! Touching down in a new country, being outside my comfort zone, absorbing the uniqueness of a destination, from the climate to the lifestyle, all stand to inform my works of art. I also feel really compelled to show a destination in a way that hasn’t necessarily been done before.

DESTINATION OR TWO THAT IS A FAVORITE TO PAINT?

I love painting destinations with a ton of color, pattern, texture, and character. That really makes my creative heart sing. My top three places would definitely be Marrakesh, Paris, and Cartagena!

YOU HAVE WORKED WITH SO MANY PRESTIGE BRANDS. SHARE A FEW RECENT COLLABORATIONS?

I’ve had phenomenal opportunities with my career that I’m so grateful for. A few that really stand out to me would be: Creating the new artwork to adorn the Ritz-Carlton wine labels globally which involved a cross California campaign tour and launch party just outside Sonoma. I also worked with the leading British luxury skincare brand ELEMIS to illustrate and design their Luxury Traveller Collection bags which sold out shortly after launch. Most recently I’ve done a lot of illustrated campaign work for Marriott Bonvoy which has turned into animated video adverts. That project led to me inter- viewing one of their brand partners, former NBA player Grant Hill, and presenting him with a series of hand-painted basketballs. I have always and continue to believe that the sky’s the limit when it comes to dream partnerships!

ARE THERE ANY DESTINATIONS YOU HAVE YET TO PAINT THAT ARE ON YOUR BUCKET LIST?

There are still so many destinations I’m longing to get to and put brush to paper over, especially after the last two years! For starters, I’d say Peru. I was actually on my way to Lima from Santiago, Chile when the pandemic hit March 15th, 2020 so I’d definitely like to see that trip through. Also, longing to do a proper Bali trip. I only transferred through there on my way to Lombok, Indonesia but I can remember the technicolor sunsets so vividly.

HOW HAS INSTAGRAM AFFECTED YOUR CAREER?

Instagram has been absolutely instrumental in my career and continues to be my main business driver. I started using it quite intentionally around summer 2014. I was sharing a lot of my il- lustration process and travel inspiration but also doing a fair bit of painting prominent fashion figures and designer collections. They often reposted my artwork which helped me to really cul- tivate a following. By August 2014 I had enough of an audience and a client base that I was able to quit my corporate design job and go full speed with my brand Travel Write Draw. Shortly thereafter, Instagram featured me as a “Suggested User” which meant that every new account who signed up to the app was rec- ommended to follow me. My account erupted with 100,000 new followers in a couple of weeks. Instagram in general marked the renaissance revival of fashion illustration as a profession. The hand drawn touch in a photo dominant app really stood out. Also, being featured on “Top Fashion Illustrators to Follow” lists in top publications like Vanity Fair, Harper’s Bazaar, and ELLE, drove a lot of attention to my work.

WHAT ADVISE CAN YOU SHARE WITH OTHERS ON THE JOURNEY TO SUCCESS?

We are living in a time now where just about everyone has a presence on social media. The saturation point is high. The best thing you can do is to double down on your authenticity and what makes you “you”. People want to work with people they connect and identify with. You aren’t going to stand out by being a second rate version of someone else. Be uniquely you through and through. Lastly, be persistent. It could take years to become a seemingly overnight success. Think about the long game. Dream big and start small. Little by little it will all come together.

WHERE WILL WE FIND YOU THIS SUMMER?

Painting at the LUX LIFESTYLE HOT LIST party in the Hamptons in July - I’m so excited that you have named me the Hottest Illustrator of 2022! Then I’ll be off to London through August, and pack in a couple weekend trips to the Mediterra- nean in between. Hope you will follow my adventures @travel- writedraw.