Mercedes Molloy, an up-and-coming 15-year-old artist and Scotts Valley resident, is giving back to her community through her artwork.
“I love art, I have had such a deep passion for it since I way very young,” Molloy said.
Since showing artistic promise at the age of two, she was enrolled in children’s art courses by the time she was five. She began painting with oils when she was 10 and watercolors when she was only seven years old.
“I didn’t know I was going to be an artist, but I always knew something inside of me had creativity,” Molloy said.
Currently, she has an acrylic painting displayed at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History.
“It is a piece that I entitled ‘Jellies,’ it (depicts) some jellies from the Monterey Bay area,” Molloy said of her piece. “… It’s definitely the largest piece I’ve done by far.”
One of her works — a depiction of a monarch butterfly on a flower — has inspired her to start raising funds so that a butterfly sanctuary can be built.
“The monarch butterfly is now on the endangered species list,” Molloy explained, “and so, we are actually starting a project and talking to some really cool people.”
With lack of funding at schools, many children are not getting the opportunity to practice and try out different art forms, she said. Art is being lost and youth are missing out on art’s power of creative self-expression.
“There is such a vast percentage of kids here in our community that are just basically involved in sports or athletics, and there is nothing wrong with that, but a lot of people, especially in our community tend to forget the arts,” she said.
Molloy said she believes that teaching kids and spreading awareness about art will spark their interest, which could lead to future funding and or new artistic opportunities.
“(For) all my pieces, I take my own photography or I go to places like museums and develop inspiration,” she said.
Although Molloy uses various other mediums, most of her works are done in oils.
“It’s kind of like my go-to medium; it’s something that I refer to a lot and I like,” she explained. “…It gives you a lot of room to change and manipulate it and definitely kind of make it your own — whereas I feel like, in watercolor, it’s a little bit more difficult and a challenge, but I love that as well.”
Molloy said that she is heavily inspired by the great impressionists and began asking her parents for museum passes for Christmas when she was very young.
Now, she does studio time with a professional, where she can practice her craft in an open environment and receive some direction when necessary. She is also in the process of signing up for AP Art at her high school.
“It’s just something I love to do and I feel that my art is a part of me,” she said.
Besides oils and watercolors, Molloy is involved in other forms of artistic expression as well. She submits photography and other works to the Santa Cruz County Fair every year, and has won numerous awards.
To add, she also does sidewalk art, which is a less permanent art form that is done with chalk on sidewalk and then hosed off at the end of the day.
“So I do it like Italian street art — al fresco — so I go to different festivals,” she said. “The one that I usually go to is the Palo Alto Art and Wine Festival.”
Molloy has used art as an important outlet and healing process, as she has been through numerous health issues, which began at age 13.
“I would go two times a week to art, sometimes three or more after surgery, and it was the only thing that would make me feel better,” she explained. “It was the only thing that would get me through it, and I think that art is the best way to heal the soul and mend it: It’s the best possible way to feel better and rejuvenate yourself.”
Molloy is maturing through her art, caring more about how it makes her feel, rather then how other people think or perceive it. Her vibrant colors illustrate the beauty of the natural environment with a dreamlike impressionistic technique.
“The most important thing that I know, she was a blessing to me,” said Melinda Molloy, Mercedes’ mother. “She was our miracle, she has had a lot of medical issues, and I think God’s given her a gift.”
“She was our gift, but he gave her a gift.”
