Frances’ Skies, critique by Dr. Roberta Amerini

No one can capture winter skies or Florida sunsets better than Frances de Courcy Mercer. The emotional intensity in her watercolours, the sense of overwhelming, yet comforting warmth irradiated by the sun at the horizon, the harmonious combination of warm and cold colours make her work a loyal depiction of the natural beauties of our planet.

Her skies speak of long winter nights spent contemplating the sun from dusk till dawn, capturing every single change in colour at different moments of the day and night. The viewer is lulled in this world that stands halfway between reality and dreams, pleasantly engaged in these whirlpools of colours and emotions.

Her work is indeed a praise to nature, but the artist goes beyond that, and represents scenes of mystery and excitement, as if she was discovering the sun and the sky for the very first time.

It is her gentle, yet determined touch that makes Mercer’s paintings so recognisable and intriguing. They stand as a means to contemplate and appreciate the world’s simplest and most natural phenomena, and to long for our past. And this is what excites me about her work:  charismatic depictions of colourful skyscapes, impregnated with feelings and nostalgia for the old times.

Dr. Roberta Amerini

Image: Sunday by Frances Mercer