Erin Schulz – Artist Statement
While my roots are in the classics of still life, figure and landscape painting with a limited, earth-toned palette, I continue to explore the splendor of contemporary realism in terms of subject matter and technique. In the classical tradition, I was trained to work ‘from life’. For me, this is more of a deductive approach involving paring down and selecting visual information that captures the person’s expression or the texture and light of a piece of fruit on the table in front of me. I diverge from this in my narrative pieces, and instead use a more inductive approach to create a particular vision that I have in mind. I am endlessly inspired to paint these subjects ‘on table’ or ‘in mind’.
Bio
Erin started studying art at an early age in Yakima, WA and continued studying with a focus on classical realism in oil (portrait, figure, and still life). Ironically, she was first exposed to classical realism and atelier style teaching at the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute in Chongqing China where she had private instruction in portraiture. She continued her studies at Gage Academy in Seattle, Grand Central Academy in New York and Florence Academy of Art in Italy.
Erin’s Studio is stop #35 on the 2022 VIVA Holiday Art Studio Tour, Dec 3-4 & 10-11, Saturdays and Sundays, from 10 am – 4 pm. For more information on the free, self-guided tour and an interactive map, click here.
