b. 1982 | Grew up in Princeton, NJ

2004 | Graduated from Lafayette College, Easton, PA

BA- Art

BA- International Economics and Commerce

Currently living in South Carolina with my husband and 7 children

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The M. Merritt Collection began not with a grand plan, but with a simple desire to bring color into the walls of our first home after moving to Greensboro, NC in 2010. What started as a practical solution quickly grew into a deep and enduring love for painting and design. Working primarily in acrylic and oil, I am drawn to vibrant color as a way to express emotion, energy and memory.

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Motherhood marked the first profound shift in my work. With the arrival of my first child, painting became a quiet refuge within the beautiful chaos of new life. In the in-between moments – during naps or late evenings – I returned to the canvas as a way to breathe, reset, and remain connected to my identity as a creative. 

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Years later, after the loss of our second child at three months old, my art transformed again. Painting became more than a refuge; it became a space to process grief and navigate a reality that felt impossible to hold. Through this experience I began to recognize a deeper beauty within raw, unfiltered emotion.  My focus shifted toward honoring the full spectrum of lived experience-the tender, the difficult, and seemingly ordinary.  

 

I am especially drawn to the small, often overlooked moments that define our lives: restless nights, slow mornings, missed naps, laughter, tension, and even chaos.  These fragments of daily life- both joyful and challenging-are what I seek to preserve. Through bold color and layered texture, I aim to capture not just how these moments look, but how they feel. 

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For many years, my paintings functioned as a personal journal, shared only occasionally. Now, as my children grow and my days open in new ways, I find myself ready to gather and share this body of work more fully.  What began as a private practice has evolved into an offering- an invitation to witness the beauty, complexity, and depth of a life lived in color.