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Biography Born on the West Coast of Canada, Erika moved to Alberta as a young child. Her natural aesthetic was greatly influenced by this contrast of landscape, between coastal and prairie, which has lead to a lifelong passion for the beauty nature has to offer. Erika has also been greatly influenced by Asian Style and the Arts and Crafts movements. Perhaps the most important influence on her painting style however, is the work of the Scottish artist Margaret MacDonald-Mackintosh who inspired the "drawing with paint" technique which Erika employs in her own acrylic paintings, today. Erika graduated from Red Deer College with a diploma in Visual Arts and later went on to help establish the commercial art gallery Gallery I.S., which was in operation for 6 years. Along her search for artistic development she challenged herself to complete the 365 One-A-Day project in 2009. Currently Erika's focus is towards reflecting the beauty of her surroundings, Illustrating her favourite subjects, and exposing her work to the world wide web audience. Her projects include; An Alberta Aviary (a study of birds), Creepy Girls and Calavera (an illustrated collection of macabre portraits), and Illustrating the Kwaidan (Japanese folk stories) which will be published in Chapbook (zine) form. Erika is also in the midst of a large project, co-creating and illustrating a grand strategy video game. Erika lives in Alberta, Canada with her Family and Pets. Artist Statement An Alberta Aviary is a series of works that showcases my love for one of my favourite subjects, birds. I have chosen to specifically focus on the birds I see every day, as they never fail to inspire, and I always look forward to the migrations of different species throughout the year. A collection of these paintings continues to travel across Canada. These acrylic paintings also give me the chance to showcase the "drawing with paint" technique I have developed over the last decade. It was originally inspired by the mixed-media gesso panels of Margaret MacDonald who was the wife of famed Architect and Painter Charles Mackintosh. My paintings have the same raised line and strong Art Nouveau influence. The surface is layered, patterned and textured which interlocks into an image that can be enjoyed on multiple levels. Sunset Over Lievnos, the video game I am co-creating is the second big project which I continue to focus on. Information can be discovered on the website. www.sunsetoverlievnos.com
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Selected Exhibitions The Alberta Aviary. Traveling Solo Exhibition.
Group Exhibitions
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