“I love birds. I just do. And moss. And water with it’s endless possibilities. I like my art to be first about the subject and second about the media itself. It's a magical visual alchemy that cadmium orange and cerulean blue combine to make the perfect warm gray for a mourning dove’s feathers! I love laying tightness on top of looseness and letting the first marks I make show through here and there, creating endless layers of interest. My painting education is in realism. I have carried that forward into my current work, sometimes venturing into elements of abstraction, often incorporating metallic pigment. I also am fascinated with printmaking techniques: etching, monoprinting, sometimes combining these modalities with painting. A new curiosity is sourcing pigments in nature and finding ways to use them in my work. My greatest influence has always been the beautiful Pacific Northwest, where I was born and live, excepting time in Missouri to earn a BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute. My heart’s desire is that my art might encourage a closer look at our incredible universe, which is our gift to nurture and protect and sustain us as we enjoy our place within it.”

Artist Shari Erickson, paints the landscape and nature of her beloved rainy misty mossy Pacific Northwest, in acrylic, watercolor and mixed media. She lives in rural Oregon surrounded by forests and fields and lots of wildlife. Her clients include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Nature Conservancy, The National Wildlife Federation, and The Audubon Society. Her nature illustrations are installed in visitor centers and on interpretive signs at fish hatcheries and wildlife refuges and published in nature magazines and books. Recent honors include the California Duck Stamp, the Idaho Ducks Unlimited Sponsor Print, the Oregon Upland Game Bird Stamp, and the Alaska Ducks Unlimited Sponsor Print.