Painter Judd Mercer shares his journey from industrial design to bold brushwork, reflecting on artistic breakthroughs, favorite mediums, and the thrill of finding beauty in unexpected places.
Learn directly from Judd Mercer at the inaugural Gouache Live online art conference, taking place August 23, 2025.
Art education: I formally studied industrial design, so didn’t pick up painting until later, starting with watercolor workshops from the likes of Joseph Zbukvic and Alvaro Castagnet. After a few years, I moved on to opaque mediums — gouache with Mike Hernandez, then oil with Greg Manchess and Dave Santillanes.
Painting style: My style is the opposite of delicate. I prefer deliberate strokes without a lot of blending. I think that’s partly why I moved away from watercolor — applying the medium just didn’t feel like I wanted it to. But carving out a negative shape with a rich dark in oil, man, that’s the stuff. I like it when brushstrokes feel like sculpting.
Favorite subjects: There is a word in French, “frisson,” which, as I understand it, refers to that sensation of excitement or awe that bubbles up spontaneously when you hear a moving crescendo or see a view that just floors you. I try to dig for that feeling wherever I am — not just in grand landscapes, but also in alleys, junkyards, factories, and my own backyard. Every subject has that magic in there somewhere.
Aha moment: The first time I nailed a snow scene outside was when I finally started to understand how light works. Somehow, seeing bright, cobalt, upward-facing shadows compared to the warmer shadows from under hanging rocks made the idea of bounce light click for me. Wait, this snow is all white, and yet none of it truly is? It’s been a lot of those little realizations.
Favorite artists: I’m a big Edward Payne fan, and I’m pretty sure my brushwork shows it, as well as my exaggeration of atmosphere. I appreciate Richard Schmid as well, though I struggle to apply his strategy of appearing to paint wild and loose and instead just do it, for better or worse. I can be too literal sometimes, and he had a way of viewing the world through a very specific “mood lens” that I admire. Aside from landscape painters, I’ve really taken to Costa Dvorezky’s work. His boldness and command of anatomy make my head spin.
The advice you wish you had received earlier in your painting career: Let go of the outcome! For me, plein air is no longer about going out to make a great painting, unless I’m at an event. The observation and learning process is the point, and I wish I had embraced that sooner.
Connect with the artist at www.juddmercer.art.
Gouache LIVE (August 23, 2025) is about rewiring how you see, think, and create as an artist while giving you a fresh sense of creative freedom, whether you’re picking up gouache for the first time or ready to explore! Maybe you’ve tried oils. Acrylic. Watercolor. But gouache is different. Learn why at GouacheLive.com. (No tech skills? No problem! If you can click a link, you can join our event!)
View more contemporary landscape paintings here at RealismToday.com
 shares his journey from industrial design to bold brushwork, reflecting on artistic ...){kind=link}