Vanessa Merry moved to Florence, Italy at the age of eighteen to study the methods of the great masters in painting, drawing, and printmaking at Palazzo Spinelli. She continued her education and exploration of the human-figure, still-lifes, and landscapes at Atelier de Chimere in France were she enjoyed Plein-Air painting in the French countryside. She moved back to the United States were she attended and graduated from the University of Minnesota in Visual Arts and Art History.

She has been actively involve in the Twin Cities art scene for many years. Vanessa Merry has won several awards for her paintings in local galleries. She has worked with many different galleries and art orginazations in the cities.

Vanessa currently enjoys creating works of art in many different styles, but finds herself happiest when she is in the classroom teaching others all the skills that she has acquired in her studies.