Sandy Merritt poses in her studio with Boa Head, one of her favorite portraits.
LaVerne Kyriss
Sandy Merritt grew up in a suburban area near Detroit, Michigan. She dabbled in painting when she was a young adult and took art classes paid for by her employer. She got married, had two kids, and pursued various creative activities in her limited spare time —- quilting, knitting, writing, reading. All the while she kept thinking, “I’d rather be painting.” She also continued to take classes and eventually got a business degree with a minor in art.
When Merritt was 50, IBM was in the throes of downsizing and she jumped at the chance to take an early retirement. “I worked as a systems engineer for years and it paid the bills, but I wasn’t passionate about it,” she reflected. With a daughter in California, she and husband Myron, pulled up stakes and moved to Prescott where they built a retirement home. While in Prescott, Merritt also wrote feature articles for the local newspaper. But she still had the urge to paint.
They also bought a home in SaddleBrooke, deciding they’d spilt their time between the two. “In SaddleBrooke we found the lifestyle that wasn’t available in Prescott. We loved that home, but eventually sold it and moved here permanently. I was still writing, but that’s when I really decided to explore painting once again.”
Today, Merritt works mostly in oils. “I painted watercolors for a while, but I like to be able to adjust as I paint. With watercolor, you have to draw and plan in advance,” she said.
“For me, painting is about exploring and the learning process. I’ve taken a lot of classes and studied with numerous teachers. Portraits are my absolute favorite and I still love to do them, but I’ve also tried to keep learning and trying new ideas,” she said.
“Art is more about exploring feelings, telling a story visually and translating that into color,” Merritt said. “I like stories about strong women.” Her portraits confirm that, often featuring elaborately costumed women from various time periods. Rich colors saturate her work. “I particularly like attending studio time at Tasana Gallery in Oro Valley with live models. I get a lot of inspiration to create stories.”
Merritt has also explored still-life compositions and landscape painting to round out her skills. “I still find plein aire the hardest. I’m just not attuned to it. I also haven’t done many paintings with architectural features, so I’m working on a composition based on a scene in Mexico.”
“I need to simplify the image, so I’m creating a series of thumbnail sketches to determine which elements to include, how to get them placed right and which colors will work together,” she explained. “It’s a good exercise and is stretching my ability in an area that’s new to me.”
“In my current classes, I’m learning how to get it right the first time and not just get it down and then have to re-do it. That’s part of being a life-long learner,” she smiled.