Kerne Erickson

A scholarship from General Motors lead Kerne Erickson to the Art Center College of Design/Los Angeles in 1966. However, interest in automotive design and cold climates quickly faded as he was exposed to the West Coast art world and the brilliant California sun. Graduating in '69 he began and continues to work in his home studio doing illustration, design and fine art. After moving from the Hollywood Hills, with stops in the flatlands of Santa Ana, Costa Mesa, and the mountains of Julian, in 1976 he finally settled in a hillside neighborhood at the southern edge of the former O’Neill cattle ranch in what was to become the city of Mission Viejo.

Erickson's versatility has allowed him to pursue parallel interests and opportunities that have arisen over the years. In each realm, in spite of the ever advancing changes in technology, he has continued to embrace the solitary act of creating with his primitive tools of "colored dirt and sticks " (paint pigment and brushes) on canvas. While seeking to maintain the discipline of traditional realism, he enjoys the expressions and abstractions contained in each brush stroke. Whatever he is painting, the observations of light, color, perspective and shading are key to establishing a sense of reality, while never at the expense of losing a sense of the designed, painted, and subtly nuanced paint surface itself. The tension between the two imparts a thoughtful, metaphysical quality to his work.

Looking at his series of vintage themed paintings, many have assumed that he was a popular artist working in the 1930-40's and long since deceased. But still being very much alive, he accurately researches various historical ephemera, and then creates a scene from the past as seen through modern eyes. Many have period style lettering designed and painted directly onto the canvas, the end result resembling old travel posters. These have been reproduced and distributed around the world, and the original works sold to collectors. For Erickson, as a counterpoint to our current, often frenzied age, they provide a place to ponder, to escape, and to gain perspective.

Seeing Erickson high on a ladder or scaffold with huge brushes in hand, others would assume he was a muralist, such as when he was working on a 120 ft. mural for California Adventure/Disneyland. While never actively seeking mural work, a few interesting commissions have given opportunity to break out of the confines of the picture frame and to transform entire walls into vivid visual experiences.

In a dramatic contrast of scale, other times he can be found under a straw hat painting a small study in plein air. While these paintings are enjoyed as a pleasant diversion from studio work, they form the foundation of observation for everything he paints. Absorbing the interaction of sky with earth, the transition of light into dark, the penumbral glow that brings visual energy to a simple scene is crucial. Speaking of his experience doing these fine art pieces, Erickson says that, "Painting for me begins with a simple attraction to a particular scene, and a desire to do something in response to that attraction. Often I paint. Sometimes I just look....caught up feeling that this scene, this light, this moment just seems too significant to go by unnoticed!"

Whether commissioned or inspired, Erickson is generally painting daily. His current works range from the old El Rancho Escondido in the pristine hilltops of Catalina Island to the recent Along the California Wine Trail series and currently to modern day urban scenes.

See his personal website at: www.kericksonart.com