Erika Lee Sears is a self-taught oil painter from Portland, Oregon who specializes in contemporary still life scenes. Known for her intimate oil depictions of 21st century everyday life and objects, Sears transforms the mundane and ordinary into fascinating and emotional works through her unique textures, point of view perspective, and mastery of lighting.
For the last five years she has created an original piece of art every day and shared her journey on social media. As a busy mother of two, she finds inspiration in her eclectic children, the beauty of still life, and the culture of her bustling city. Her passion extends beyond just her creativity as she seeks to inspire others with her accessible approach to modern oil painting. You can find her work on the television show Portlandia and the first season Significant Mother. Her work is also featured at the Brooklyn Art Library. Motherhood is a key driver for the art she creates; milk, laundry, peanut butter and jam sandwiches, and household items are the key protagonists to her paintings.
Inspired by her captivating, rich in color yet simple night cityscapes with hypnotic neon signs and vibrating city lights the students in Renaissance Academy started their project by painting the whole paper black to represent the dark backdrop of the night cityscape.
The students discussed the illusion of depth and perspective in the painting and the methods the artist used to accomplish such an illusion of space. They grasped the idea of small versus big depending on position as well as the shrinking lines of the road that eventually disappear with the increasing distance. They applied the same universal methods by collaging elements of the landscape like moving cars, neon signs and road lanes and painting small dots right above the horizon line for the lights of the numerous buildings that populate the city scene. They added some finishing touches with oil pastels that resulted in accomplishing charming and whimsical pieces of art that made our students very proud and fulfilled.
