Today we’d like to introduce you to Cameron Merrill.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My creative journey started as a child, sometime before my memory developed. I grew up tracing my father’s sketches and doing my own. My whole life has been spent refining my drawing skills completely on my own. After all that time, I am going to be a part of Insomnia Gallery’s “Punk Garage Sale,” vending art prints, original drawings, and stickers on April 21, 2024. It will be my first time vending my artwork in a market. Along with drawing, creating stories has always excited me, but I never put too much attention on that aspect of my interests until more recently when I decided to write short stories and novels to illustrate. While I haven’t released any writing yet, I’m excited to share what I have created in the near future. The other form of art that heavily inspires me is music. Genre has never prevented me from listening to anything I can get my hands on, and I even began playing guitar at a young age. Without proper training I only play as a hobby, but I still desired to incorporate music in my illustration endeavors. In 2019, my older brother “Jones” hired me to draw his album cover entitled “The Invitation.” Seeing my artwork on Spotify for the first time was an experience that motivated me to continue finding more musicians with visual art needs, like my good friends, “Million Dollar Red”. They have given me steady opportunities over the past year to work with them on EP artwork and live concert posters, which I will attribute to my success in the future for the experience, support, and companionship they have provided me.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I have always been interested in so many things throughout my life that it has honestly be overwhelming at times. I have always struggled with juggling all my skills and honing in on a path that would allow me to utilize them to enhance my life and, hopefully, the lives of others. I remember in my mid teen years feeling so uncertain that I quit making art of any kind for a long time. Today, I am glad that I picked it back up, dusted it off, and have reached the point where I surprise myself with my talent and abilities. It’s not something I just have, but something that I have worked hard to obtain in spite of all my fear of the future. I hope that one day, it will be my escape from that fear altogether. The past year of making connections and putting myself and my art out there has given me much to be excited about. All of you should be excited, too, because I want to share it with as many people as I can.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
It has taken a long time to developed my style, going through many phases. I’m a traditional artist, mostly using pen and alcohol markers. I would classify my art as psychedelic, dark, and gothic, taking inspiration from comic book art and rock and heavy metal album covers. I strive to work with more and many music artists, providing my visual designs to their sonic art. I currently have a few writing projects I’m working on that I would love to release after gaining a following that will be excited to read them. Accompanied by intricate illustrations, my writing tends to be based on horror/thriller-style storylines.
As of right now, I am most proud of putting myself out there. In a world of AI and endless digital artists, I think I stand out by creating art traditionally. As a result, I believe my pieces have an authentic and classic feel that people seem to be connecting to nowadays amidst all this boom around nostalgia.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I am luckiest in that I have parents that have always encouraged me to be myself and express it to others. My confidence is because of their support. To this day they continue to help me as push me to do the things I want to accomplish. Living in an era of technological advancement could be considered luck as well. With a plethora of inspiration and tools to explore, I have everything I need to continue developing my skills.
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