Nikitha Kumar, On Daniel Merriam

Daniel Merriam is a contemporary surrealist artist. His most used medium is the traditional medium of watercolor. He takes influence from many other classical artists such as M.C. Escher, and Norman Rockwell. His artworks seem like the dreams of children, with their fantastical themes and interesting looking characters. Growing up, Daniel Merriam never focused on school and would constantly daydream of whimsical scenes instead of paying attention to his teachers. Since he lived in an area with lots of art influence, he had a lot of exposure to modern art from a young age. He grew up and started working in his father’s company, but he was not happy. Eventually, with the support of his father, he decided to quit and attempt to make a career with his talent. He claims it was the most difficult time of his life, but he focused on bettering his art ability and eventually he got to the place he is now. He currently has many artworks permanently in many museums and libraries and many more solo exhibits across the world.

Merriam explains that he prefers to only work on one art piece at a time. This is so he can put all his focus on one thing in a more efficient way. Unlike many artists, he knows exactly what he wants the piece to look like before he puts the brush to the paper, which is an ideal technique for a medium like watercolor. Unlike classical watercolor art, Merriam uses the dry brush technique and many layers to create realistic illustrations. These are all decisions he made with no external input. It is common knowledge that Daniel Merriam never had any traditional art education and is basically self taught. He stated that the art colleges he applied to rejected him saying his style was too illustrative and was not what they were looking for.  

One common item that Merriam uses in his artworks are bubbles or orbs. They represent the dreamy world he is trying to create as an enjoyable escape from reality that the viewers can experience. He precariously balances intricate castles and houses on edges of cliffs to add to the fact that his paintings do not depict real life and therefore do not need to follow the same rules. His piece Bubble Street, made in 1994, depicts a neighborhood street in a fantasy world with real life elements such as a young girl biking on the street, a boy playing with bubbles, and another girl swinging on a tree. The fantasy elements are the floating bubbles and the multicolored houses, and the pastel colors combine all the different parts together completing the piece.

Another common theme in Merriam’s artworks is humor and comedy. Daniel Merriam has included awkward and funny scenarios into his pieces since he was a child. This is a way for him to lighten the mood and relate to the audience. These scenes are almost in every artwork with bright colors and comical expressions. One example of this is the piece The Ride.  

This artwork takes place in an unusual amusement park. The focus is on a rollercoaster in the center, but the rollercoaster is exiting the mouth of a floating head! The characters on the ride seem unaware of this fact as they enjoy themselves, but in the foreground, a man stands laughing and pointing at the scene. All of these factors combined would give viewers a laugh in the midst of his many other more serious pieces.

There is no doubt that Daniel Merriam is a huge inspiration for many young and aspiring artists. His whimsical style and intricate pieces are a treat for the eyes and can carry viewers into fantastical realms, where they can get a brief respite from their mundane day to day existence. His pieces encourage the viewer to be involved with and experience his art work almost like a magical dream.  Merriam credits his inspiration to Nature, literature, mythology and music, to name a few. He also seems to have repetitive themes, for example many of his works depict  the Circus or the Theatre. This again seems to reinforce the idea of places where imagination and magic are front and center. His delicate and precise use of color and perspective makes the surrealistic scenes he paints almost feel like they are possible in real life.  Merriam takes small parts from his best experiences and stitches them together into beautiful art pieces for everyone to enjoy and take from. He opens the viewers mind to thoughts, feelings and views that might not be visible anywhere else. He provides the viewer with an almost childlike view into a fantasy world. So look at his art work and set your inner child free !

Snapshot from Whims of Change exhibition Virtual tour

Works Cited

“Daniel Merriam – Artist Profile.” WOW x WOW, 12 Mar. 2016, wowxwow.com/artist-profile/daniel-merriam-ap.

“DM Whims of Change Exhibition HD 720p.” YouTube, YouTube, 27 May 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6EsSnTSxhw.

Merriam, Daniel. Bubble Street. 1994, Sausalito, California.

Merriam, Daniel. The Art of Daniel Merriam: The Impetus of Dreams. Monarch Editions, 1998.

Merriam, Daniel. The Ride. 1993.

Vidal, Nicolas. “Daniel MERRIAM: ‘The Stage Is My Easel’ – Interviews Société.” Putsch, PUTSCH, 26 May 2012, putsch.media/20120526/interviews/interviews-societe/daniel-merriam-the-stage-is-my-easel/.