Meet Merrilyn Moynihan | Freelance illustrator and Special Effects Makeup Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Merrilyn Moynihan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Merrilyn, what do you want people to remember about you?
Honestly, I don’t really think of my legacy being about myself. I think about it as though my stories and artwork have a life of their own. I’ll one day die, but my work will hopefully go on.

I share my art and tell stories in the hopes that they will speak to others and spark something in them—hope, inspiration, courage, the strength to go on for one more day.

One of my favorite quotes is from Winnie the Pooh: “you’re smarter than you think, and braver than you feel.” If just one of my works can make one person believe that about themselves, then I feel like I’ve had a good impact in life.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My journey has taken me down a lot of strange Alleys and side paths to get to where I am.

I knew from the age of 4 that I wanted to grow up to be an artist in some variety. At that time I wanted to be a Disney animator specifically because I Loved to draw so much and watched the films of the Disney renaissance on repeat.

I spent middle school and high school drawing my own little comic strips, much to my teachers’ dismay. Somehow I graduated with good grades and got accepted to BYU where I studied film, theater, and animation.

After a few years, I began to feel the pressures to conforme to a “normal Mormon life,” so got married, dropped out of school, and started a family. At the time I thought I was doing what was right, but after a few years of that, I realized I had been living a lie and that I never did buy into the Mormon culture or beliefs. I had played along to appease others, and never actually listened to my gut or what I felt to be true in my heart.

I then made the difficult decision to divorce and become a single mother in order to be true to myself and provide the best life for my child. I didn’t want to be in a marriage that was a sham, and I didn’t want my child to grow up in that environment.

I got a steady “real world” job and began to do art on the side for some extra income. I left the church and began to live for myself. It was the most difficult time of my life because I had to reframe the entire world I was living in, but I don’t regret it at all.

Right before COVID hit, I met the love of my life and got remarried in the middle of the pandemic. My now husband reminded me of my dreams and my potential, and helped me to pick myself up and reassemble the pieces of my life into something more beautiful than I ever imagined it could be.

Then last summer I decided to take a massive chance and started reaching out to local filmmakers in an attempt to start doing special effects makeup again. I did a lot of it in my BYU days where I made films, and assisted with medical training, and I really missed doing it. I didn’t think I’d hear back from anyone, but was ecstatic when one of the directors I reached out to messaged back asking if I’d be the makeup designer and artist for his horror film over the summer.

I had so much fun on set with the cast and crew, and we all grew really close. We had several 10-12 hour days, but they never felt that long because we all worked so well together and had so much fun telling Dana’s amazing story. We were all so sad when the summer came to an end and the film wrapped.

Presently, I still have my steady “real job”, but I’m happy to say that I consistently create art in one way or another. I sell prints of my illustrations and original art, I take commissions, and I’ll occasionally do the special effects makeup for a local indie film, but my favorite job that I have is being a mom to my two amazing kids.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my best friend Amanda was visiting, I’d have to show her the nature Colorado has to offer. She grew up in the PNW so grew up thinking tumbleweeds were things of cartoons and not real. I’d have to take her down to Alamosa or near the 4 Corners area to show her a real desert and blow her mind further.

Colorado is fascinating, though. The geography is so varied across the state. We have the desert, we have canyons, we have forests, and plaines, farmland, lakes, and of course the Rockies. I’d love to show her all of that.

I’m not a huge extrovert and hate being in large crowds of people, but I’d brave the masses to take her to a Rockies’ game, and check out the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

I love nature, history, and learning. The world has so much to offer and there’s always something to learn about. Consequently, I love going to museums and learning about how others lived and how they handled situations and challenges that we face today as well. Colorado has so many different museums to visit (the DAM and the Molly Brown houses being a couple of favorites).

I also love a good local restaurant. I enjoy experiencing different cultures and trying new foods, so I’d probably take her to Bon Ami. It’s an amazing, authentic French restaurant that’s one of my favorite haunts, and unique because you don’t find many restaurants offering a French menu here in Denver.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My shoutout goes to the underdogs and the misfits. I love a good underdog story, and I always root for the weird one in the group (Orla from “Derry Girls” specifically comes to mind when I say “weird one”).

Your stories are unique. The way you see the world is fascinating! The world would be a very boring place to live if everyone thought, felt, and dressed exactly the same.

Don’t feel ashamed for being a little out there. Live your life and speak your truth because you never know who you’re going to inspire.

Instagram: Www.Instagram.com/merrimoyart

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/merrilyn-moynihan-3aa130a7?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

Other: https://indd.adobe.com/view/af2023c1-f2e2-42b3-b26a-40a62f9bac9d And Www.Instagram.com/merrimoymu

Image Credits
Ronan Moynihan and Merrilyn Moynihan