Merrifield
Laurence Merrifield - Contemporary Artist & Carpenter
Laurence Merrifield has been exhibited in arguably the most prestigious contemporary art gallery in the world: the National Portrait Gallery
Laurence portrays the true profundity of life and the beauty of nature through his works.
Born in Lambeth in 1950 to a family of engineers, he grew up with a passion for the natural world and a respect for the man-made. The razor-sharp precision, detail and perfect placement on the canvas is unique to Laurence. His depictions of Marilyn Monroe and the leather clad bikers of the 1960s are a rare and exquisite treat. His forays into wildlife art however developed further after moving to Somerset in the 1990s with his wife and four children. His family home deep in the heart of Somerset, much of it renovated and designed by Laurence himself, provided him with an extraordinary foundation for his future.
Somerset is, he says, “is blessed with its incredible beauty and dramatic changing light, and the variety of wildlife.” His work isolates his chosen subject against a single colour backdrop, so the only hint of their environment is seen through the reflections in their eyes, projecting them beyond the plane of the canvas.
The lifelike quality and exquisite detail of Laurence's art comes from painstaking research and attention to detail. He paints his intensely realistic portraits in oil on linen, and has also created works in chalk that seem to spring to life off of the paper. His experimentation with mediums did not stop there; when he began painting murals and crafting dovecots, book shelves, rustic windows and window seats by hand in the year 2000, he found his passion for bespoke carpentry.
Laurence Merrifield has been exhibited in arguably the most prestigious contemporary art gallery in the world: the National Portrait Gallery in London, where his self-portrait was exhibited ahead of the internationally acclaimed BP Portrait Awards.
In recent years he has undertaken a small number of commissions for an exclusive number of private collectors and homes in Europe and the UK.
Education:
1967
Maidenhead Art College - Photography, Illustration, Typography, and Sculpture
1968 - 1970
The Berkshire College of Art - Advertising communication and Graphic Design
1970
Commercial Artist