In plein air and in the studio, Aimee Erickson does it all—still lifes, interiors, landscapes, nocturnes and figures—and with a distinct and lively use of light, color and brushstroke that is recognizable no matter what she paints.

“When I was in school I was taught that if you can learn to see and learn to paint, you can paint whatever you want to, so the idea of limiting myself felt impossible to me,” she says.

For Erickson, figurative and still life works have more in common because both genres have a central object and background. Landscapes often lack a clear, compositional figure-ground relationship, which was challenging for the studio-trained Erickson when she started painting in plein air in 2003.

Arrangement with Undecided Lemons and Pink Wallpaper, oil, 18 x 24"

 

She remembers the instructor of a plein air workshop pointing out the S-curve patterns in the field before them. “I saw nothing!” she exclaims. “I just couldn’t see certain aspects of the landscape as a painting.”

Learning how to see and what inhibits us from doing so are concepts and skills she explores in her book Plein Air Techniques for Artists and in the many workshops she teaches.

“One of the main questions I ask is ‘how do you learn how to see something you can’t see?,’” she says. “What holds us back? Why can’t we see what we haven’t seen yet?” 

Being side-by-side with so many of her students as they navigate the process of learning to see has further fortified her own ability to do so.

Catalina Late Light, oil on panel, 12 x 12"

 

“There’s always a certain nonverbal ‘something’ that I want to express in paint,” says Erickson. “[It requires] a hand-in-hand pairing of increased observational awareness and knowing what types of painterly techniques can solve a painting.” And that is just how Erickson approaches each painting—as a problem to be solved.

“It’s like a chess game in the sense that every chess game is a chess game but each game is different in how it plays out,” she says. “When I’m painting, I don’t think much about other people looking at my painting and how they might feel or take away from it. I’m just thinking about how to solve the problem I’ve set up for myself. Sometimes the process of it is deciphering it into a cohesive harmonious painting—and if I can decipher it I can do it.”

Still Life with Pink Peonies in the Kitchen, oil on panel, 12 x 16"

 

The artist’s diversity in subject matter is mirrored by the varied approaches she takes to paintings, both of which can be seen in the four new works featured here.

Catalina Late Light was painted and nearly completed on site in plein air. Unlike many artists, Erickson does not do a lot of compositional planning in advance, but rather on the fly as she works. Although she has done plenty mapping out of pieces in the past, she eventually reached a point when she “realized if you do too much preparation, the painting feels labored and not like it sprang forth whole on its own.” 

Painting Still life with Pink Peonies in the Kitchen took longer than the bouquet lasted so she finished the piece using photos for reference. Her background is not concocted but very much her own kitchen, down to the artful suggestion of a turquoise water bottle.

Meanwhile, Arrangement with Undecided Lemons and Pink Wallpaper is a vision completely conjured in her imagination but still real enough that you feel like you could pluck one of those glossy limes from the frame.

The Secret Language of Swimming Pools, oil, 36 x 48"

 

Erickson started The Secret Language of Swimming Pools a long time ago and it sat untouched for years. “Sometimes it’s like paintings have their own timing,” she says. “I can walk by and wave at it for years and one day it just says ‘Hi! I’m ready.’”

While the piece has a more graphic quality than the others, look closely and you will see the risks Erickson takes with bold strokes of color that rationally shouldn’t work but in the right hand—hers—delightfully do.

The full spectrum of the artist’s work will be on display in Everyday Haloes: Earth’s Crammed with Heaven, a solo exhibition that runs from July 7 through July 20 at Meyer Gallery in Santa Fe. —

Meyer Gallery
225 Canyon Road #14 • Santa Fe, NM 87501 •
(505) 983-1434 • www.meyergalleries.com

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