Mercer Artist: Morgan Brady

For Morgan Brady, what began as a way to bond with her grandmother when she was younger became her go-to stress reliever and one of her favorite hobbies.

Her love for art began when she was in middle school.

“The earliest memory probably has to be with my grandma,” she said. “I send her everything that I do.”

Brady’s grandmother’s natural talent and love for painting encouraged her to begin her journey as an artist. Art is one of the many ways Brady keeps herself productive.

“I always have to be doing something with my brain,” Brady said. “I always have to have my mind on something or else, I’d go crazy.”

Like her grandmother, Brady’s favorite art form is painting. She says she prefers to do more psychedelic inspired paintings and doodles in her free time.

Her inspiration can often be a reflection of her moods and experiences, despite the fact that her pieces often start with no definitive idea in mind. For her, art is the ability to display emotions on a canvas for others to see.

“I just like seeing progress,” she said. “I like seeing something from start to finish.”

Brady is on the pre-law track at Mercer and is currently a third-year psychology major with a minor in art. While art is her passion, she dislikes being graded for art and hates the idea of strict deadlines, as it constricts her creative ability.


“I know that I can do art well when I’m on my own time, but when I’m on a time limit, it stresses me out and I feel like I don’t perform my best,” she said.

Alongside many artists of our generation, she finds that the most difficult aspect of art for her is being able to be proud of her work.

“I see my flaws in absolutely everything that I make, it flusters me,” she said. “I don’t think I’ve ever been content with a piece.”

As an artist, it can often be difficult to acknowledge the quality of your work.

“Sometimes if I start looking at little things, it’s what throws me off, and then I think the whole thing is bad,” the junior said.

Her most vivid memory was from 2016, when she freehanded a collage for her friend’s living room table as a centerpiece.

“He was like, ‘Morgan I want you to paint something really cool on it,’ so I sat there the entire summer and worked on it,” she said. “It was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done.”

Brady often enjoys curating art pieces for her friends to have.

“I have the ability to do it, so why not share it with people?” she said.

She finds art in many places and believes that everyone in one way or another contributes to art.

“I think everyone’s an artist in their own way,” she said. “Everyone has a unique ability to do something, whether it’s singing, or dancing or being able to recite the Declaration of Independence.”