Collection: Lauren Mercer-Smail

THE ARTIST

Lauren Mercer-Smail is an artist living on land commonly known as Canada. At the age of nine years old, she won first prize - one free VHS rental - in a colouring contest at West Coast Video (defunct). When she did not win on her second submission, she had the revelation that the winner was determined by draw. Undeterred, she continued in art, graduating from Canterbury High School in the visual arts program. She received a B.A. in Communication Studies from Concordia University in 2011. She continued to keep sketchbooks over the years, and developed a regimented art practice - the 'Building Project’; a challenge to draw one building every day.

After returning to Ottawa to work on a local farm, she became inspired by the scenery in the city limits, and painted these views in ink, watercolours, and acrylics. She then showed her work for the first time, displaying two years in a row with other artists at a local cooperative show in Manotick. Lauren began oil painting in 2016, and has been creating work on commission and showing her work since, at Art in the Park and various craft shows in Ottawa. Her paintings have also been seen at local galleries, including the Annexe Gallery at the Ottawa Art Gallery. Her work is in many private collections around the world.