We were lucky to catch up with Debby Merkel recently and have shared our conversation below.

Debby, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you wish you had started sooner?

Being creative has always been a part of who I am, whether it was learning to embroider, sewing my own clothes, floral arranging, home decor, drawing cartoons, pottery. I always felt there was an artist just waiting to jump out and that I would just know how to draw and paint. Imagine my disappointment when I had to actually learn how!

I started taking the occasional painting course over 50 years ago and only dabbled here and there. Around 2002 I became more interested in painting and took lessons in watercolour. That led to lessons in acrylics because I was drawn to the vibrant bold colours. It started with realism until I realized how it was such a perfectionistic practice – I wanted to feel freer. I was fortunate enough to attend a 4 day workshop that encouraged just that and it opened a whole new world. Around this time I retired which gave me more free time to explore and practice. I was fortunate to have my work accepted into two galleries. At that point I became bored with what I was painting and felt no direction. I quit painting for 6 years and didn’t see myself returning to it. During covid I took an online 2 month abstract course and fell in love with it. I learned to play and experiment with no plan. It was liberating! It fit with who I am – an intuitive painter.

Having always painted singularly, it was a new experience to join a group and meet each week to paint. You can feel the buzz of creativity in the room. It is a supportive group and we are all interested in what each other is creating.

I now paint every day, even if it’s only 30 minutes. I enjoy the journey. Starting to paint earlier in life certainly would have given me a lot more practice to hone my skill but I believe that life experience also brings a level of acceptance and freedom to my practice of painting.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I live in a most beautiful part of Canada – Kelowna, British Columbia. I was a legal assistant for most of my working career and dabbled in art throughout the years. Becoming an artist has been an ongoing journey of learning, which I continue to do.

In my early 20’s I remember furnishing my home with original art, one piece at a time. Some of it wasn’t particularly good art, but I always wanted originals. My goal is to bring art into the worlds of as many people as possible and for that reason I searched out high end clothing manufacturers that could print my art onto clothing. What better way to own art – if you can’t afford an original, you can wear it! www.legaleriste.com/debby.merkel. Since that time a local business, Boutique Eclettica, has started carrying my line of clothing.

Kelowna is a base for filming a lot of Hallmark movies and I was fortunate to have one movie showcase 11 paintings. My painting group is the first call to rent paintings and as a result my paintings have found their way into many other movies.

In December 2022, New York City pianist, Margin Alexander, performed his composition translating my painting “Seaside” into music. It was live-streamed and an incredible experience.

Being a member of the Federation of Canadian Artists, I have had the opportunity of being juried into several shows locally as well as at the Federation Gallery in Vancouver. In May of 2024 my painting “Copper Penny” was “recognized” in the 2024 Abstracted Exhibition. On The Edge Collective is another group I exhibit with throughout the Okanagan.

This year is proving to be exceptionally busy exhibiting in art shows – 8 in total. As well I am a committee member for the Imagine Pandosy Art Festival which takes place in SOPA Square in Kelowna on July 21st.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Most rewarding is when someone has an emotional response when viewing one of my paintings. This happened to me not once but twice during an art festival some years ago. One young woman stopped, stared and started to cry. She told me that she didn’t know why she was crying but that the painting touched something in her. The following day the same response was repeated by an older woman. I totally understood because I had the same reaction when I saw Emily Carr’s work for the first time.

I love to talk to people and find out what appeals to them and why. I’m never offended if someone doesn’t like my work – it’s a good thing that we all like different things. I like it when people are curious and interested.

The other part I love about being an artist is the actual process because it’s like you are in a different state of consciousness – like a meditation. Most times the brush just guides you. And because I get bored so easily, my styles are ever changing. I like to experiment in different directions and challenge myself.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I moved to a new city I decided to apply at the local college for a clerical position. The person interviewing me noticed I had used a certain word processing program and asked if I would like to teach it. Without thinking it through I said yes. Having never spoken in public so I wrote a 98 page manual, complete with exercises, thinking that I wouldn’t have to speak in class. The joke was on me. Not only did I have to talk, I found that I loved it and went on to teach for eight years.

Being a creative, it has always been hard to sell myself. That all changed when the New York City pianist, Martin Alexander, translated one of my paintings into a composition for his New York concert. When a friend suggested that I do a press release to the local news outlets, I felt that it would be like bragging and wasn’t too keen. She suggested that if I didn’t market myself, no one would. I’m so glad I followed her advice because it has become so natural and is now part of who I am.

When I was searching for a high-end clothing manufacturer who could reproduce my artwork on clothing I found Montreal based le Galeriste and started an online store. www.legaleriste.com/debby.merkel. It was then a YouTube crash course in marketing and building my website. It took over a year to find a local boutique that was interested in carrying my line of clothing – Boutique Eclettica who has sourced clothing from Italy, Greece, Turkey, Spain, Portugal and the UK.

Pushing myself even further out of my comfort zone and more into social media, a local videographer was offering his services gratis to local artists and a fellow artist suggested that I try it. Lorenz Plourde of Process Art Discovery is a creative in his own right. He’s filmed me doing a series of interviews and has introduced me to B rolls where he films me painting and edits it into an incredible time lapse video. Self conscious at the start, I’m over feeling vulnerable and now post the interviews and the B rolls on social media.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.debbymerkel.com and www.legaleriste.com/debby.merkel
• Instagram: debbymerkel
• Facebook: debbymerkel
• Linkedin: debbymerkel