Using a combination of watercolor and acrylic paint, Stearly quickly sketches in the setting. Despite being loosely rendered, exaggerated and often brightly colored, the collection of domestic items depicted still manage to evoke the sense of a particular place.
Erika Stearly has been making paintings of domestic spaces for over a decade. She's found inspiration in vintage home remodeling magazines, the IKEA catalog, photos taken in friend's houses, searching sublet rental ads on Craigslist, and most recently through Instagram.
Using a combination of watercolor and acrylic paint, Stearly quickly sketches in the setting. Despite being loosely rendered, exaggerated and often brightly colored, the collection of domestic items depicted still manage to evoke the sense of a particular place. Stearly's paintings are often titled by street address or named after the people who live there.
Stearly received awards from the Puffin Foundation and the Black Rock Arts Fooundation for her work with Take A Painting, an interactive painting installation which she launched in 2013. She has been an Artist in Residence at Wilson College, Kutztown University, and Penn State University, where she taught undergraduate painting.
Ms. Stearly is no longer pursuing teaching opportunities and now works full time as a studio artist, although she works a few days a week for a local independent bookstore. "The bookstore provides things my personal studio practice cannot," she says. "It provides face time with other small business owners, conversations with smart and curious folks in town, access to books, and all the free coffee I could ever drink."