Rachel Mercer
- Alumni, 2013
- Faculty
- Young Artists Faculty
- Bespoke Courses Faculty
Biography
Mercer is a painter from Cambridgeshire, now based in London. She studied at Cardiff School of Art and Design (2012) and is an alumnus of The Drawing Year (2013). From 2014-2018 Mercer co-ran Mercer Chance Gallery in Hoxton, exhibiting emerging artists. Alongside her teaching, Mercer exhibits her work regularly in solo and group exhibitions in the UK. In 2019 she was awarded a two-month residency in China. In 2023 she was Shortlisted for the Ruth Borchard and NEAC awards. She has work held in private collections.
Mercer is interested in capturing moments of everyday life. Her drawings and watercolours made from observation are used to inform larger paintings made in the studio. Recent bodies of work depict people in shopping centres and children in playgrounds. Her quick drawings of moving figures are used to create imaginative compositions using loose brushstrokes that imply action and movement through space.
On drawing
For me, the life-room is a space where one can play, rehearse, practice for drawing ‘real life’. Study in portraiture and figure drawing keeps my hand and eye in training while also being a way to gather information and personal insights. However, it is drawing ‘out in the world’ I feel excited, engaged and more able to transcend myself. I draw family and friends, but I also make quick studies of people going about their lives.
I teach students skills and approaches that increase their versatility as artists, helping them adapt their drawing to changing environments, moving subjects or work to time constraints. I focus on techniques that encourage flow and energy in line and mark-making as well as methods that allow for more sustained drawing in which one strives for a more meaningful connection with the sitter.
