Erica Hawkes nearly went into fashion design, but chose instead to turn her back on the big city in favour of a painter乌鸦传媒檚 life.

The contemporary landscape artist is known for paintings that create a sense of atmospheric movement above idyllic panoramas. Erica says painting landscapes is her 乌鸦传媒渢ruest love.乌鸦传媒�

The artist earned a degree in fashion design, studying in Colorado and Vancouver, but didn乌鸦传媒檛 want to settle in a large city centre like New York or Toronto where haute couture thrives.

乌鸦传媒淚 love fashion, but it was more about where you needed to live to be a good fashion designer,乌鸦传媒� she says. 乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檓 not a big-city girl. I find I乌鸦传媒檓 more of a smaller city type of person.乌鸦传媒�

Erica grew up in Prince George, and nature has been a defining part of her life since childhood. She became accustomed to long walks along a gravel road near her home with her family.

乌鸦传媒淲e weren乌鸦传媒檛 city mice. We had a lot of northern lights, we had moose and bear; it was just really nice, peaceful and quiet,乌鸦传媒� she says. 乌鸦传媒淲e weren乌鸦传媒檛 allowed to watch TV very much, so I read and I drew. That乌鸦传媒檚 all I did with my time. I had a lot of time to practice.乌鸦传媒�

After getting her degree, Erica settled with her husband and two children in West Kelowna, where she works in a bright and spacious studio on the lower level of her home. There, she乌鸦传媒檚 surrounded by works in progress. When she gets bored with a colour scheme or has a certain mix of colours left on her palette, Erica says, she乌鸦传媒檒l switch to work on a different painting.

乌鸦传媒淪ometimes I乌鸦传媒檒l put something aside, maybe I乌鸦传媒檓 not sure which direction it乌鸦传媒檚 going. It could sit in my studio for a couple of months looking at me,乌鸦传媒� she says with a laugh.

Calling herself a 乌鸦传媒渨orker bee,乌鸦传媒� Erica often paints 10 to 12 hours a day, finishing about 100 paintings a year.

She estimates that over the past decade she乌鸦传媒檚 completed about 1,000 works.

乌鸦传媒淚 think everyone has a gift to create something in some way,乌鸦传媒� she says.

As a 20-something, her art-with-a-conscience led to a starving-artist phase. She paid her bills with a variety of jobs, working as a nanny, teacher, photographer and book illustrator. Erica kept her hand in the arts, selling portraits of people and their pets.

Eventually, she transitioned into landscapes.

乌鸦传媒淚 started with this style that I called cubist impressionism乌鸦传媒攊t was all angles and sharp lines. It was beautiful and it was fun but it wasn乌鸦传媒檛 all me. It didn乌鸦传媒檛 feel like it had flow for me.乌鸦传媒�

Her style has evolved into something she describes as 乌鸦传媒淣ouveau 7,乌鸦传媒� inspired by iconic Canadian artists in The Group of Seven, who pushed the boundaries of landscape art. She also blends in elements from the Art Nouveau movement.

乌鸦传媒淚t permeated the world in the 1900s. It was such a beautiful movement. I don乌鸦传媒檛 think anything quite matched it for me in my mind,乌鸦传媒� she says. 乌鸦传媒淭hey broke from the traditional style. They were the leaders in this impressionistic style. It乌鸦传媒檚 got colour and movement, but it乌鸦传媒檚 not perfect and that乌鸦传媒檚 what I love about it. It has its own voice and it feels fresh and new.乌鸦传媒�

Many of Erica乌鸦传媒檚 paintings start as photographs. She melds pictures of scenery with different pictures of skies to make her own images.

乌鸦传媒淚 take way too many photos. I have a phone full of photos, and my computer is full of photos,乌鸦传媒� she says. 乌鸦传媒淚 don乌鸦传媒檛 have enough space to put my images from my phone onto my computer乌鸦传媒攖hat乌鸦传媒檚 how bad it is.乌鸦传媒�

Over the years, Erica has worked with numerous materials, including graphite, acrylic, water colour, India ink and oil.

Erica notes her style is continuing to evolve. She乌鸦传媒檚 taken a keen interest in depicting trees through her Nouveau 7 style.

乌鸦传媒淭rees have personalities and a feel to them,乌鸦传媒� she says. 乌鸦传媒淭rees are my challenge. They are the thing I probably will keep learning my whole life.乌鸦传媒�

She adds: 乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 exciting to get better, but sometimes I乌鸦传媒檒l look back on something and go, 乌鸦传媒業 wish I had taken that out.乌鸦传媒� There乌鸦传媒檚 always room to improve. That乌鸦传媒檚 something that is human.乌鸦传媒�

Erica乌鸦传媒檚 paintings are showing in seven galleries. In the Okanagan, her works can be seen in Tutt Street Art Gallery in Kelowna and The Lloyd Gallery in Penticton.

乌鸦传媒淭he tricky part about being a gallery artist is that people will buy what they love specifically, but then if you do something different that乌鸦传媒檚 maybe outside of the box a little bit, it乌鸦传媒檚 a harder sell. I乌鸦传媒檓 walking a fine line trying to figure it out.乌鸦传媒�

She says, 乌鸦传媒淭he sunset on the lake is such a popular theme that I can paint it almost from memory now.乌鸦传媒�

Erica hopes some of her works will become so beloved that they will live on.

乌鸦传媒淚 hope that my art can survive in someone乌鸦传媒檚 home for long periods, that it乌鸦传媒檚 good enough that it becomes part of the family for generations,乌鸦传媒� she says.

To learn more about the artist, visit .

Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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