About Merrie

As far back as Merrie can remember, she loved to create in a variety of mediums. As a young adult, Merrie pursued a degree in Education eventually being offered a dream position teaching Art to elementary students. Merrie’s relationship with her students was reciprocal—she inspired her students to find their creative voices and in turn, was inspired to pursue her art beyond the class room. Finally, after  fourteen years, Merrie retired from teaching to chase her passion full time. She studied and graduated from the Milan Art Institute’s Fine Art Mastery Program under the mentorship of Elli and Dimitra Milan.

The subjects of Merrie’s paintings reveal love within relationships—between self and others, God, and nature. A favorite poem called, “The Master Weaver,” which her grandmother shared when she was a child, has become an integral part of how Merrie creates as an artist. She begins with freedom and abandonment using abstract mark making, layering collage, colors and forming drips. Much like how the poem describes life, the work may become dark and messy, but only by adding the light, which Merrie accomplishes masterfully, does it all come together when her creations are finished with excellent nuances of light, shadows, and contrasting colors.

Merrie enjoys spending time with her husband and growing family. Most days you will find her working in her home studio that looks out to the desert mountains, quail, bunnies and an occasional road runner. Merrie’s greatest inspiration is God—“His creativity is insurmountable in the world around us. I enjoy revealing His love and beauty through painting people, animals, flowers and landscapes, which for me, becomes a form of prayer.”