The work of Drew Merritt appears to have been created by the hand of a classically trained painter well versed in the techniques and methods of the Old Masters but the reality of the situation, much like his work, is far more complicated than it seems. Drew’s training and introduction to the arts came through graffiti covered freight trains wizzing past while he sat on horseback in the New Mexico desert. From graffiti to oil paint, Drew’s artistic evolution eventually led him to leave his small town lifestyle for the cut-throat art scene of LA and eventually cemented him as one of the leading artists in the Urban Contemporary scene. With the unusual ability to translate his very detailed and painterly work from canvas to massive walls and from oil to spray paint, his work is immediately identifiable wherever it’s found. Merritt’s somewhat challenging subject matter can be both shocking and mesmerizing which is exactly how he likes it.