Alicia Merrill

Daisies

Daisies are such a pretty flower!

This painting was done in acrylics on an 8x10 canvas....

it was fun to dabble in acrylics again!

This is an oil painting that I was commissioned to do a few months ago. It is based off the original painting done by Kume Bryant. My client asked for specific alterations in a few of the colors and designs from the original painting, and she was very pleased with the end result!

I absolutely LOVED painting this! The colors, the texture, the vibrancy of it.... ah! So much fun! The freedom to not be so caught up in detail, but just let loose and PAINT! This makes me want to do more abstract-type pieces in the future....

My client also wanted this to be painted on a wrap-around canvas,
as the final piece was not going to be framed.

Just look at all that TEXTURE and COLOR!

Painting size: 30"x 40"
SOLD

He Is There

This piece represents so much more than what you see.

There are many who seek to know Jesus Christ. To know why He was born, to know what He went through, and to know that He still lives.

I know that each of these places signify an important and pivotal event in our Savior's life.

He lives. He's there. You just have to find Him.

(2017)

Salt Lake Temple Spire- pencil

A quick sketch of the main spire on the Salt Lake Temple.

(2017)

Up close view.

Salt Lake Temple

This is an oil painting on canvas that I just finished to go along with the "Merciful Savior" painting that I did a while ago.

I learned a TON while doing this painting, as it is the first architectural oil painting I have ever done. There is so much detail in the Salt Lake Temple, and getting the perspective to look right was far from easy. It was a challenge, and had to be repainted a few times before I finally got it right, but in the end, I am excited with how it turned out!!

"Salt Lake Temple," 16"X 20" (2017)

Closer View of the Temple

Happy Mothers Day

Earlier this year I lost my Mom to cancer. This is the first Mother's Day I celebrate without being able to tell my Mom in person that I love her. That I appreciate her and everything she has done for me, my family, and my Dad.

Drawing her since she passed has been the hardest and most amazing experience. Before drawing her, I prayed that I would be able to get this one right- that I would be able to look at this drawing and see my Mom and feel that I was looking into her beautiful eyes and feel her Spirit.

As I ponder about what to write next, all I can think about is what I know.... I know that death is not the end. I know that I will be with my Mom again. We will be together again because our Savior made that possible. His plan is simple, and it is real. Life is Eternal. Family is Eternal.

My heart aches for my Mom. I miss her terribly. I think of her every day. But death is no longer a scary or undesirable thing for me anymore- knowing who will be waiting for me on the other side with outstretched arms to welcome me back home. Forever.

I love you, Mom.

Happy Mothers Day.

Yellow Blossoms

For those of you who don't know, we have moved to California.... and I have been in the process of decorating and making things for our new house.

I bought some new bathroom towels in yellow and grey, which meant the painting I had in my old bathroom no longer matched. So I painted a new one, and wanted to share it with you!

I wanted to keep it very simple, but fun by making the oil paint thick and pop out a bit.

It's not a typical painting for me, but was really fun to do..... I loved being able to break out my oil paints!

Flowers

I find myself getting in a rut sometimes of what to paint or draw, and then finding the motivation or making the time to do it.

So I have joined this artists group that is more of an "art motivator" group. I am totally ecstatic about it! We are given a topic every month, and then given a due date to have it done by. We can choose any medium to work with, and it is really quite relaxed about how and what to do within the topic.

This month the topic is flowers, and I love flowers in watercolor. So I decided to dust off my watercolor painting supplies and get to work! (I haven't done watercolor in almost 10 years.

Yeah, I know.)

I did one practice flower on some card stock paper (which now I wish I had done it on watercolor paper instead, because I ended up liking the way it turned out... oh well.)

(My son got to the painting before I could take a picture of it and wrinkled it up, so you'll have to look past the wrinkle haha)

Then I set up a "still life" of some fake flowers I have in my house and went to work on some more flowers:

Easter Morning

I started this pastel drawing forever ago. I got stumped on it and just wasn't happy with it, so I kept putting it off and didn't want to finish it.

But with the Easter season upon us, I got it back out and was determined to finish it.

I used a famous Greg Olsen painting titled "Gentle Healer" as the inspiration for this drawing, but wanted to tweak it and have it depict more of what I picture when I think of my Savior. I hope you like it! Have a wonderful Easter- filled with family, love, and most importantly- Our Savior.

Color~ A Beautiful Girl

When I saw this girl I knew I HAD to draw her. She is absolutely beautiful! I really enjoyed all the color in the photo as well, so I knew I needed to really let that stand out.

This was done on a 12"x12" matt board in charcoal Nupastels (one of my new favorite mediums to explore!). This piece was finished April 2013.

Enjoy!

Close-ups:

My Garden

This project was so much fun!

I was asked to paint these pictures for a lady who teaches children how to garden in 12"x12" squares.

Each of these paintings were done on a 12"x12" mat board in acrylic.

The best part about this project was that she wanted lots of color and animation... because it is for kids! So I got to have lots of fun making these look more cartoonish than realistic. (But to make sure a kid could recognize it, I tested my 2 year old... if he could tell me what the painting was of, then I knew it would work!)

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