Charlotte Mertz became interested in art early in life, but she set her brushes aside in college to concentrate on the written word and eventually on raising a family outside St. Louis, Missouri. She continued to study and play with composition in conjunction with her ongoing interest in photography. Only since her husband’s retirement and a move to Fort Myers, Florida, has she resumed painting. She took up watercolor seriously in 2006 and has whole-heartedly pursued her early romance with line and light since then. Now she likes to add to those features a sense of atmosphere and story.

She particularly enjoys passing along what she has learned, through classes, workshops, mentoring, and her “Perspectives” articles.

Among the many artistic traditions that have influenced Charlotte’s work are the deceptive simplicity of Japanese sumi-e, the detail and unexpected translucency of light piercing darkness as depicted by the Dutch masters, and the Impressionistic movement that simplified detail while illuminating mood with shimmering light and shade.

Charlotte’s subject matter is often drawn from her own interests in history and her extensive travel experiences. Her animal series developed when she became intrigued by the many personalities of her friends’ and neighbors’ pets. Based on photographic studies she made of each animal, Charlotte enjoyed expressing something of each pet’s personality in its painted portrait. However, of all the subjects she paints, botanicals rate as her favorites.