The Wonderful Watercolors of Artist Tom Merriam

Tom Merriam	"King Pine"
"The Packet J.P. Merriam in Portland"
"The Elm Tree"

Barns, boats, camps and coastlines . . . country roads, rivers, woods and wildlife — all these, and much more that is endearing and familiar and nostalgically historic about the state of Maine, Tom Merriam portrays and preserves in his watercolors. The scenes come genuinely from his lifetime on the coast, the lakes, the rural byways — visual experiences that Maine-lovers remember and relish.

"Maine is my state," describes Tom. "It's always been." He has no intention of ever leaving.

Tom was born in York and graduated from high school there in 1978. Today he lives in Windham on Pettingill Pond. His life in between includes five years as the island caretaker on the coastal Isle of Shoals, living in Skowhegan, working as a sign painter (he's currently with Farmington's Signworks), and apprenticing with the late watercolor artist George Carpenter (the last surviving member of the Whisky Watercolor Association) at Perkins Cove.

"He was mean," Tom recalls of his former mentor, "but brilliant." He took Tom under his wing because he had seen Tom's work. He fired Tom three years later for being ten minutes late due to a flat tire. That was the deal: "If you're ever late you're finished," Carpenter had warned.

Whatever else he was doing, Tom always painted, but for the last five years he has been an artist full time.

Among his commercial work, Tom creates the prints and illustrations for the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife — and did the shield on the front of headquarters in Augusta. He has just finished a mural for Central Maine Motors in Waterville and 43 murals for the Strand Theatre in Skowhegan, and has recently been contracted to paint a mural for the new Belgrade Regional Health Center. Also in Belgrade, Tom was the guest speaker at the Belgrade Historical Society meeting on Wednesday, May 24.

What lies ahead for Tom? Children's books — he already has several in the works, more murals, and always more watercolors of Maine barns and boats, country scenes and shorelines, nature and the outdoors. . . .

"I would like to be known as the next Winslow Homer," states Tom. "I strive toward that."

To view more of Tom's work, visit www.thomaskmerriam.com, where his prints that are for sale are posted.

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The Wonderful Watercolors of Artist Tom Merriam