Picture Gallery

Painting en plein air (in the open air) presents an artist with a myriad of challenges, including the need to interpret ephemeral light quickly and to capture atmospheric conditions, while often combating aggressive insects and peculiar creatures. A plein air artist must be physically fit and must possess a hearty soul, a sense of adventure, and an ability to edit the immense amount of information that lies before his eyes. Eric Merrell welcomes these challenges with a nonchalant attitude, approaching them from his own unique perspective.

The Western Sky — No More Shall We Part Oil on panel: 12 x 16 in.

The surreal, almost otherworldly, Joshua Tree National Park is an ideal subject for Merrell. His high-key values, contrasted with cool hues, project a convincing reflection of the hot desert sand and the immediate drop in evening temperatures. His simplified shapes and masses express the age of the weathered terrain formed over millions of years of gusty winds and torrential rainstorms. It is these severe climate activities that create the vast wilderness uniquely identified with the strangely twisted yuccas and skull-shaped boulders of Joshua Forest. With this collection of paintings, Eric Merrell grasps the spirit of the bizarre, but beautiful, environment of the Mojave Desert.

Elaine Adams
Executive Director
California Art Club, est. 1909
Editor-in-Chief, California Art Club Newsletter

For more information about Eric Merrell, please visit his website at www.ericmerrell.com.