Wolverhampton's Megan Reece showcases artistic talent
It may be her vocals which have blown people away, but The Voice contestant Megan Reece has another talent just as impressive.
The 28-year-old from Wolverhampton made it to the next round of the singing competition, where tonight she will be with her new judge Paloma Faith.
And while she continues to impress television audiences, she has opened up to another skill up her sleeve.
From waterfall scenes to abstract pieces and portraits of the rich and famous, Megan has done them all. But it all began when Megan discovered her passion in art when at Heath Park High School.
"I did it as a hobby in school, I guess I have always been an arty person," said Megan.
"As my job, it's only been since last year but I've been doing paintings for people for about three years and building up my portfolio to where I am now."
Megan insists she will 'paint anything' and she holds a public Facebook page called Oh My Gouache – Art by Megan.
"I use acrylic and watercolours as well but gouache is really good for portraits because it blends really well," she said.
Her full body of work includes gifts for weddings, anniversaries and birthdays.
She has painted some of her musical influences, such as a young Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney and legendary rocker Slash, best known as the lead guitarist for Guns N' Roses.
And has produced fantastic life-like portraits of superhero Batman and Walter White from hit TV show Breaking Bad.
A detailed portrait, which can take up to nine hours to complete, will cost between £70 and £100 with caricatures available for £20.
"I like to challenge myself and it usually turns out okay," said Megan.
"With the Walter White portrait, I watched Breaking Bad and loved the show and thought he had a really interesting face to paint.
"It is one of my favourite paintings, I haven't sold it yet.
"Batman was a commission and only took about an hour and a half to complete, even though it wasn't something that I would normally paint, I really enjoyed it.
"These days a lot of my work tends to be commissions, but when I have got no work on, I look at new techniques. I am always looking to improve.
"My most big, detailed paintings take about eight or nine hours to complete but I won't do it all in one go.
"I like to do a couple of hours at a time and then come back to it refreshed."
Megan, who classes herself as a soul and blues vocalist, has been gigging all over the country with a guitarist for the past few years. She has four sons – Xavier, 12, Jami, seven, Finley, six, and Taylor, four – and has lived in Wolverhampton all her life.
She appeared on The Voice last Saturday with her version of Lianne La Havas' What You Don't Do.
Two judges hit their buzzers but she chose to work with Paloma, who is known for her retro style, instead of Boy George.
As well as her performance, she gave all four judges – also including Will.I.Am and Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson – a caricature portrait each and was happy the show acknowledged her career as an artist.
"I am so grateful to The Voice for doing that because, no matter how far I get in the competition, it will boost my work as an artist," she added.
"Even if I was travelling with my music, I would still want to be painting because I love doing it.
"It's a joy for me, it's not just work. It's an outlet, and a stress release."
