Piece description from the artist
My goal is to make an interesting abstract painting using colors that evoke a particular light. Lately I've been using cut-out shapes as stencils, laying the solid shapes down and painting around them, doing this in layers as they dry. It's a slow contemplative process. The images I've been using are significant. They are based on imagery from Ancient Rome, cave paintings, and Celtic culture. Sometimes the images are pretty clear but usually I try to keep any obvious imagery out of the paintings and let abstracted shapes be in the forefront.
James Erikson grew up in Central Pennsylvania wandering the fields and getting lost in the woods. After college he moved to Philadelphia for a few years before going to New York City to pursue his Masters degree. James has lived in Philadelphia for over ten years now where he works at the public library and makes art.
While living in cities James has felt constantly drawn to nature, and feels that good abstract painting can only come from nature. He began painting on his own by making "plein air":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plein_air landscape studies, then spent a decade making collages that influenced his abstract paintings. The tendency to cut things and shift them around, as well as his history with nature and landscape painting are a big influence on his studio practice. Even when he's directly influenced by a scene in Philadelphia the reason it catches his eye is because of a particular light or a connection between nature and urban decay. Erikson is affiliated with the Drawing Space and Artists Space of New York and the Mahan Gallery in Columbus, OH.
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