I’ve always found art and science to be compatible, as they’re both driven by imaginative thought and a passionate curiosity. I started drawing and painting at an early age, and never stopped, even though my formal education was in the sciences. In college, I honed my drawing skills, not in art classes, but in biology and comparative anatomy, where I made detailed renderings from life. Science taught me to observe the world more closely, while art taught me new ways of perceiving what I see. It’s the interpretation of what we observe that makes all the difference.

I always walk in search of a subject, whether I’m in lower Manhattan, Stockholm or on the coast of Maine. It might be the facade of an old building, the rounded cylinder of a water tower, or the interplay of light and shadow that strikes me. At times it’s the mood or energy of a place that resonates, like golden light penetrating through fog, or the juxtaposition of a crowded street next to a quiet one shaded with trees. I’m fascinated with the geometry of architecture, the interaction of lines and forms shaped by perspective and the atmospheric effects created in all types of weather and light.

Every building, bridge and place has a character and history that I become familiar with over time, and that relationship deepens during long hours of painting with caring precision. It is my hope that each viewer experiences their own personal connection to these cityscapes and rural places suspended in time.

Merrill was passionate about art since her first box of Crayola crayons, but lacking the self-confidence to pursue a career in the arts, earned a BS degree in biology.  She has always believed that art and science are absolutely compatible as they are both driven by imaginative thought and curiosity.  Science taught her to observe the world more closely, while art taught her new ways of perceiving what she saw.

She is always in search of a subject whether walking down city streets or along the coast of Maine.  It might be the façade of and old building, the rounded cylinder of a water tower, or the interplay of light and shadow that strikes her.  She is fascinated with the geometry of architecture, the interaction of lines and forms shaped by perspective and the atmospheric effects created in all types of weather and light.

She also set some time aside to earn a Black Belt in Karate, taught it for many years and then opened her own studio.  She tried to emphasize the “art” in the Martial Arts as well as self -defense. 

Merrill recently completed a 20 painting commission for a Manhattan real estate management company.  Her recent awards were:   first prize at the Mattatuck Museum, Waterbury, CT which included a solo show in 2020.  She also won second prize at the New Britain Museum of American Art in New Britain, CT in 2021.  She was awarded 2^nd prize in NAWA’s “Home” show in 2021.

Permanent collections include:  Mattatuck Museum, Jane Voorhees Zimmerlie Museum at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ (through NAWA) and the Belfast Free Public Library, Belfast, ME.   She exhibits her work nationally, primarily in New York and New England.