Early Artistic Development and Education
Michael Mercier developed an interest in the arts from the time he was a young child. In high school, he enrolled in advanced art classes and developed a love for vibrant colors and the moods they would create. He would often seek out beautiful places where he could take in beautiful views over the ocean and study sunsets that he would articulate with Prisma color pencils and acrylic paints.
These works would then often be given as gifts to his grandparents who would treasure them and display them in their home. Later, while attending the University College of Santa Barbara, Michael experimented with many forms of art, including sculpting, charcoals, as well as oil painting. After completing his education, Michael took a break from art for a few years as he began his career in business. He was then re-inspired after the birth of his first child and developed a new lens of the importance of art through the process of birth and creation.
Spiritual Inspiration and Artistic Practice
Michael believes art should be free and come from the soul without the limitation of expectations. His art often comes from soulful memories of beautiful places he has been and the imprint these experiences made upon him. As Michael grew in his faith, he came to understand his work as a representation of creation itself. He is inspired by the book of Genesis and the thought of what the earth looked like as God's Spirit was moving over the waters and the earth, contemplating what creation looked like as landscapes were forming and the shifting and moving of the mountains and oceans.
Michael starts each painting with a prayer and begins by moving color around. As he does this, shapes start to appear that remind him of various elements of creation. Each work takes weeks and even months to complete as there are layers of painting and long breaks between inspiration. The titles reflect the creative inspiration of each work, and many come with a poem or verse. He prays that each work blesses the new owner, and often there is a tree that represents Jesus as the tree of life.