Piece description from the artist
In St. Louis, Ted Drewes is a staple as much as baseball or even the Arch. It was a wonderful, special treat when I was growing up and one of my very clearest memories as a young artist occurred in this very pictured parking lot. I can CLEARLY recall sitting in my parents' car while my father went up to get our order. As I was sitting there, I was looking at the lights on the building, then the "icicles", then the way the roof pitched. I vividly recall following the lines the roof made with my eyes and realizing that the angles of the roofline changed as it got further away. I was discovering depth of field on my own as an 8-year-old in the second grade. And what's more, when I got home I drew what I saw, I took it to school the next day and a little boy in my class asked me how I knew to draw the building as a did. I was truly delighted. I was so proud of that moment as a young artist and it made such an impression on me that I've repeatedly illustrated this spot as an homage not only to the city I love, but how it shaped me into the artist I am now. I still have that original drawing.
Leah Merriman is native to St. Louis, working primarily in encaustics to create ethereal, layered abstract landscapes on wood and paper. She also creates detailed illustrations of urban scenery and architecture and will often combine the two.
Merriman was influenced heavily by personal childhood and young adult illnesses and often found that being able to escape her own physical situation was only possible through her mind. She creates worlds you can "go into” and look around. Places you can stay in for a while, watch the scenery shift light, textures and colors in conjunction with the time of day. By practicing stillness and the awareness of being in the moment, an appreciation of your own mind’s ability to travel inward can be honed while still being acutely aware of your immediate physical world, striking an intriguing balance through the marriage of patience and escapism.
Merriman apprenticed in sculpture and illustration under local St. Louis Master Artist Rudolph Torrini in her late teen and early adult years.
She studied Drawing and Sculpture at Fontbonne University in St. Louis as well as photography and videography at Webster University, St. Louis, MO. She
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