Megan Duncanson | Abstract painter

'- I grew up in the bush of Alaska near the small fishing village, Meyers Chuck. We didn't have any of the modern amenities most of us take for granted.

The only way to get where I lived was by boat or float plane, there were not (and still are not) any roads.

The only source of electricity was individual generators. Our only source of heat was provided by wood burning stoves (there was a lot of firewood to be cut and stacked!)

My family didn't have phones or cable TV, it was roughing it at it's best!'

'After I graduated from High School in Ketchikan, Alaska, I decided to go somewhere warm, and headed off to college in Hawaii on the island of Oahu.

I attended the private College, Hawaii Pacific University from 1990-1992.

Around that time I was feeling foot loose and fancy free and decided to do a little traveling. I ended up taking a bus cross country until I reached Orlando, Florida.

Of course it had to be somewhere warm, I'm addicted to the heat!

I attended Valencia Community College for a semester and then ended up back in Ketchikan, Alaska to give birth to my only child, Aroon Melane in 1993.

After she was born I moved back to Florida and married my husband Robert in 1995'.

'Over the next four years, I finished my Bachelor, and Master's degree in Political Science with an emphasis on Gender Theory and International Relations from the University of Central Florida.

In addition to college I was also selling my art through local galleries and shows and as murals.

I also helped my husband run a lucrative custom home building business (I was a licensed Residential Contractor) until 2007 when we decided to leave the area and move to Ketchikan, Alaska.

I know - it's cold there!!

But, we saw the imminent down-turn in construction and the Real Estate market, and wanted to get out while we still could.

After three years we decided it was time to head back to Florida (and the heat!).

We still have a cabin in the remote community of Meyers Chuck where I grew up and we now commute between Alaska and Florida, the best of both worlds!'

'Over the course of my life I have always painted and sold my art. As each year passes, I gain more and more collector's and international acclaim.

I am currently devoting myself full-time to my art career, particularly the licensing side of the business, and being a wife to my husband Robert, and mom to an honor roll, volleyball player daughter, who is attending FGCU! Yes, I am a proud mom :)

The world holds so much more to see and do, I look forward to the next 40+ years of adventure traveling, exploring God's earth, and getting lot's of inspiration for new paintings'.