My name is Robert Merrill and I am currently a prisoner in a Texas Department of Corrections. I started drawing early on, and got better and better over time. My inspiration comes from my grandmother, Shirley, who is responsible for it all, passing her creativity gift down the family tree. She used to make dolls and enjoyed watching her. And I’m glad that creativity rubbed off on me, because it's served me well. Everything you see might appear different to me; where you see an object, I see something I want to make better. It’s always been that way.

Drawing is only one of the types of art I do. I also do logos for business, and my favorite is scrapbooking. I love creating one-of-a-kind personalized photo albums and enjoy it thoroughly. Creative writing is also interesting to me, and I actually just finished writing a book.

Art comes in many forms not just drawing. If you put your mind to it, you can do it. I don’t limit myself to categories because, while practice doesn’t always make perfect, it does make you better at what you’re trying to do.

My family is my motivation in my work, and I strive daily to do better. There is no feeling like taking something out of your head and committing it to paper … whether it’s drawing or writing. Art is anything you create no matter how easy or hard it is, so don’t worry about what other people think. Life is short but I realize that the work I leave behind is like a footprint for people to see for years to come. 

Thanks for reading. Check back soon for my latest work.