Daniel Merriam was born on February 1, 1963 in a small town in Maine, USA. He was one of seven artistic children and so was surrounded by creative pursuits as a child. He began exploring his artistic skills by drawing cartoons for his high school paper and went on to become a professional architectural designer. His architectural illustrations won many awards and inspired Merriam to take up painting as a full-time career. It was a move that has brought value to the genre of modern surrealism, as Merriam’s art exhibits an aspect of curiosity that was previously lacking in the movement. Fantastic creatures frolic in his art works while pensive humanoids express the inner world of the artist in silent mime, asking nothing of the viewer but that they travel into Merriam’s fantasy world and delight in his alternate reality.
Unlike many surrealist works, Merriam’s art isn’t a reflection of society, suffering or the emotional angst of the artist. Instead his paintings portray opinions of emotion, history and nature that are based purely in the realm of curiosity. There is a sense of child-like romanticism in the beauty of his fantasy realms that is balanced with a maturity of technical skill. This is the work of an artist who has dedicated his time and energy to the pursuit of form as an expression of ideas and imagination.
Daniel Merriam has published two books of his fantasy surrealist paintings, The Impetus of Dreams and The Eye of a Dreamer. You can find out more about these books and see more watercolor paintings by Daniel Merriam on his website. Try out these links for online art galleries that sell prints of Merriam’s art, or join his Facebook page for updates from the artist.
