The goal of Von Winkle is to help teach the art of being present and surrounding yourself with things that bring positive energy, colour, joy and beauty to your life. It is about respecting the journey of life and seeing the world differently. I am Jay Merriott, the creator of Von Winkle and the work. However, Von Winkle should not be viewed as individual pieces of art, rather it is a body of work that incorporates everything I’ve learned on my journey into works of art that are created to help you feel. I started my journey with crayons and coloured pencils as soon as I could hold them. Even though I’ve been making art as long as I can remember, I was always told that art is not a stable career and was pushed to “get a real job.” Because of this I became a clinical counselor with one overarching focus, to help others feel more enriched, empowered, and ultimately live a happier life. This focus has stayed with me and greatly impacts the art being made. Counseling taught me a lot about myself and others, however, I still felt compelled to continue my journey and make my impact in a different field, the business field. I found myself working for a Fortune 100 company where I was able to take what I learned as a counselor and help engineer and foster greater client relationships via empathy and understanding. After years of watching the world become more divided and isolated, I began feeling unable to make any substantive change… and then I woke up. At that point I decided it was time to chase the dream I had as a child and to create the world I envisioned. That was when Von Winkle was born. The art of Von Winkle is energetic, vibrant, confident, and above all fun. I intend to fulfil this vision by creating great art that is accessible to everyone. Life is a journey and all the paths that you go down teach you something unique that you carry with yourself indefinitely. My art combines everything I’ve learned throughout my life and applies that knowledge to every piece I create. Many artists work hard to express themselves to the world, I work hard to reflect the beauty I see in the world and others back onto canvas in a way that the viewer can actually feel without overthinking. I intend to make something new, something that harkens to my heroes throughout art history while awakening the child within us all. In an often hectic, divisive, and insular world it is important to learn from the child within us all. To do this we must learn to be playful, curious, courageous, open, and empathetic enough to see the wonder and awe that is right in front of us. If we can learn to see the world like a child, we can hope for and participate in making a better future.