Artist - Dave Merrills

Dave Merrills, artist, uses artificial light to create and cast shadow from his subject matter to enhance or breakup the surface forms being painted. He almost exclusively uses oil on canvas and paints landscapes and architectural formats. His preference is to paint life size or larger paintings which compliment any setting – traditional, modern and minimalistic or as a dramatic talking point in a working environment such as office space, restaurant, or hotel reception area. David’s paintings are eye catching, bold and distinctive. You can never tire of looking at them and the light works with the painting to give it different moods depending on the time of the day or night.

Born in Yorkshire in 1933 he trained in Art between 1950 & 1956 at Rotherham and Sheffield College of Art before undertaking National Service for two years in 1956. During his time in the forces with the Royal Engineers, Dave worked as a technical illustrator for the war office where he would use intricate and detailed airbrushed recognition drawings of mines and switches to demonstrate to recruits their workings. This was in an era before computers and where pure talent was required to show how essential components behaved under certain conditions or how they were to be assembled. It was here that Dave came to appreciate how light and shadow interacted together to offset very detailed images.

Dave then became a teacher working in secondary schools in Essex, Staffordshire and North Wales. He had a sabbatical year at Cardiff University in 1971 and retired from teaching in 1986 to become a full time professional artist. He was elected as a member of the Royal Cambrian Academy in 1991 and has twice worked on the council for the R.C.A . He has had one man shows at the Academy, and galleries in Conwy, Rhyl, Llangollen, Ruthin, Mold and Llanbedrog as well as group gallery shows and open exhibitions - mainly in North Wales. He has work in private collections in Great Britain, Europe and America.