Utah Local: Maria Mercer

Although Maria Mercer is not a Utah native, she lives here so she's local. I do have to mention that she is almost my sister-in-law (she's my sister's husband's sister), but I'm not biased. She is such a talented artist. I am not even good at drawing stick people so I am in awe of people who have worked hard to learn how to use their vision to make such beautiful pieces of art.

She paints and sketches and also uses cool computer programs to create digital art. This sketch below is one of my favorites that I've seen of hers. Wanna see more of her work? Check out her portfolio at her website.

Maria accepts commissions as well as freelance work for both Illustration and Graphic Design. She is available to do corporate/company based work, which is what most of her work is. But she is happy to sell digital copies of some of her work for under $50 or some of her paintings. She didn't give me any exact prices, so if you're interested, please contact her. I think it would be so awesome to commission a painting and have something so original and is a combination of your vision and the artist's.

After some investigation (I got the info from my sister Tiffany), I found out that Maria is using her talents and experiences to write and illustrate a book for doctors to give to children who have been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes to educate them and help them feel less scared. She was diagnosed with it when she was 9. Isn't that a cool project?

One of her other paintings I think is fun is the curious-looking owl in her Portfolio. I picture it in a reading nook, maybe because we think of owls as wise. Which one do you like? Have you ever commissioned a painting?