Art Hop

February Artist of the Month

Catherine Erickson
Mixed Media/Found Road Refuse

I am the youngest of four children. I was born in San Francisco and grew up on the peninsula. I started my art career, at a very young age, on the floor of our home’s long hallway…. drawing and painting on a continuous long roll of newsprint that my dad had brought home from his job, as a printer. I drew from imagination. I didn’t do much after that but came back to art making in High School. I excelled at drawing, painting, composition and color theory. I won awards.

My art teacher thought I was fabulous and encouraged me to go to art school. I did not go to the art school I wanted to attend because my parents could not afford it. I put myself through local community colleges and San Jose State majoring in Fine Art. I kept drawing and painting throughout my life. I returned to it full time when the urges became too strong to ignore. I paint for myself. I like to constantly change and move forward with my work. I like the idea of saying something, but not always saying something. I am moved by the things from my past that compel me to speak of the times I grew up in...... the 1950's and 60's....the musicians and artists, and poets. The beat poets and musicians weigh heavily on my mind and I feel a kindred spirit with their speak and song. Sometimes it isn't about anything.... just about how I see a place or scene and the actual application of heavy paint with a palette knife. I like the doing of it.

Sometimes I paint what I see but more and more I paint/create what I feel. I use oils and found road trash or lost items in my work. I feel my latest work is of the imperfect, impermanent, incomplete, and unconventional.  It is where corrosion and contamination make the expression richer.  My work is made of materials that are visibly vulnerable to the effects of weathering and human treatment. The sun, wind, rain, heat, and cold create a language of discoloration.  Rust, tarnish, stain, warping, shrinking, and cracking are my pallet. These elements bring life to my work. I know when a piece is done when I am at a point of contentment with it.