Merrimon Kennedy

When creating a landscape outdoors, or "en plein air," I am obviously composing from observation. These are most often done in oils using palette knives and silicon tools rather than brushes. My non-representational works are intuitive and rarely planned. The exception would be scaling up a sketchbook study or reinterpreting an earlier landscape or abstract.

Until recently, oil was always my medium of choice for all paintings. However, the more familiar I have become with acrylic’s unique properties, I now appreciate their versatility and am using them more frequently. My process for abstracts involves the layering of paint as it is added, removed, or obscured. Collage is also an important component, adding not only color but also shape and texture. There is a history to the surface; oftentimes earlier layers read through the most recent.  I am intrigued with surface textures and mark making techniques, employing not only my painting tools to scrape and scratch but also rags, steel wool and sandpaper to alter or enhance my work. I want the viewer to feel movement and energy. My strokes are bold and decisive as I aggressively lay out my composition on the canvas or panel. There is structure, but not at the expense of looseness and spontaneity, serving as a guide and lending expression to the composition.

Growing up in a small town in the South, Merrimon was eager to explore the world. She received a BFA in painting from Tulane University, spending a semester in London and backpacked throughout Western Europe. She attended graduate school at UNC-Greensboro and by the late 80’s was owner of an art and craft gallery on the coast of North Carolina. Soon afterward she married, and by the time their daughter was born, allowed her painting to take a backseat to the business and family. After almost thirty years as a gallerist, she sold the business to resume a full-time art practice.

Looking for a dramatic change, Merrimon and her husband moved to northern New Mexico in 2015. The vistas from their home in rural Santa Fe County enticed her to try painting outdoors on location. Working from observation gave Merrimon a tremendous appreciation for the Southwestern landscape. Though she is spending more time in the studio now doing abstracts, her current work is informed by that time and experience.

Exhibiting her work in a variety of locations in the Southwest and online since 2016, Merrimon has developed a national audience and is included in private collections throughout the United States and abroad. She is a member of the Santa Fe Society of Artists, the North Valley Studio Tour and Plein Air Painters of New Mexico award winner. In 2025 the Kennedy family moved to Corrales, NM where Merrimon happily continues her artistic journey.

Collage/Mixed Media, Painting (all materials)