Erica Hawkes nearly went into fashion design, but chose instead to turn her back on the big city in favour of a painter91裸聊视频檚 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 91裸聊视频渢ruest love.91裸聊视频�

The artist earned a degree in fashion design, studying in Colorado and Vancouver, but didn91裸聊视频檛 want to settle in a large city centre like New York or Toronto where haute couture thrives.

91裸聊视频淚 love fashion, but it was more about where you needed to live to be a good fashion designer,91裸聊视频� she says. 91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 not a big-city girl. I find I91裸聊视频檓 more of a smaller city type of person.91裸聊视频�

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.

91裸聊视频淲e weren91裸聊视频檛 city mice. We had a lot of northern lights, we had moose and bear; it was just really nice, peaceful and quiet,91裸聊视频� she says. 91裸聊视频淲e weren91裸聊视频檛 allowed to watch TV very much, so I read and I drew. That91裸聊视频檚 all I did with my time. I had a lot of time to practice.91裸聊视频�

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, she91裸聊视频檚 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, she91裸聊视频檒l switch to work on a different painting.

91裸聊视频淪ometimes I91裸聊视频檒l put something aside, maybe I91裸聊视频檓 not sure which direction it91裸聊视频檚 going. It could sit in my studio for a couple of months looking at me,91裸聊视频� she says with a laugh.

Calling herself a 91裸聊视频渨orker bee,91裸聊视频� Erica often paints 10 to 12 hours a day, finishing about 100 paintings a year.

She estimates that over the past decade she91裸聊视频檚 completed about 1,000 works.

91裸聊视频淚 think everyone has a gift to create something in some way,91裸聊视频� 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.

91裸聊视频淚 started with this style that I called cubist impressionism91裸聊视频攊t was all angles and sharp lines. It was beautiful and it was fun but it wasn91裸聊视频檛 all me. It didn91裸聊视频檛 feel like it had flow for me.91裸聊视频�

Her style has evolved into something she describes as 91裸聊视频淣ouveau 7,91裸聊视频� 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.

91裸聊视频淚t permeated the world in the 1900s. It was such a beautiful movement. I don91裸聊视频檛 think anything quite matched it for me in my mind,91裸聊视频� she says. 91裸聊视频淭hey broke from the traditional style. They were the leaders in this impressionistic style. It91裸聊视频檚 got colour and movement, but it91裸聊视频檚 not perfect and that91裸聊视频檚 what I love about it. It has its own voice and it feels fresh and new.91裸聊视频�

Many of Erica91裸聊视频檚 paintings start as photographs. She melds pictures of scenery with different pictures of skies to make her own images.

91裸聊视频淚 take way too many photos. I have a phone full of photos, and my computer is full of photos,91裸聊视频� she says. 91裸聊视频淚 don91裸聊视频檛 have enough space to put my images from my phone onto my computer91裸聊视频攖hat91裸聊视频檚 how bad it is.91裸聊视频�

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. She91裸聊视频檚 taken a keen interest in depicting trees through her Nouveau 7 style.

91裸聊视频淭rees have personalities and a feel to them,91裸聊视频� she says. 91裸聊视频淭rees are my challenge. They are the thing I probably will keep learning my whole life.91裸聊视频�

She adds: 91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 exciting to get better, but sometimes I91裸聊视频檒l look back on something and go, 91裸聊视频業 wish I had taken that out.91裸聊视频� There91裸聊视频檚 always room to improve. That91裸聊视频檚 something that is human.91裸聊视频�

Erica91裸聊视频檚 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.

91裸聊视频淭he tricky part about being a gallery artist is that people will buy what they love specifically, but then if you do something different that91裸聊视频檚 maybe outside of the box a little bit, it91裸聊视频檚 a harder sell. I91裸聊视频檓 walking a fine line trying to figure it out.91裸聊视频�

She says, 91裸聊视频淭he sunset on the lake is such a popular theme that I can paint it almost from memory now.91裸聊视频�

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

91裸聊视频淚 hope that my art can survive in someone91裸聊视频檚 home for long periods, that it91裸聊视频檚 good enough that it becomes part of the family for generations,91裸聊视频� she says.

To learn more about the artist, visit .

Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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