Today we’d like to introduce you to Erin W. Berrett.
Hi Erin, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I have been drawing and painting my whole life. I was always dabbling or doodling. I started taking watercolor classes with my best friend at a young age and I always enjoyed any art project in elementary school. Because of several amazing teachers in 4th, 5th, and 6th grade, I felt encouraged and supported. My childhood dream was to be an artist but I had no idea what that meant. I just knew that was what I would be.
In High School, I took as many art classes as they would let me. Fine Art, Commerical Art, all of it. My AP art teacher, Marjorie McClure, was remarkable. She learned the way I saw things and how I thought. She encouraged me to study at the University of Utah with Paul Davis. She believed we had a similar outlook.
At the University of Utah, I had so many wonderful teachers, including Paul. Connie Borup pushed me to paint larger and abstract; the workshops in Helper, UT had just begun and I benefitted immensely from the immersive weeks spent there with Paul Davis, Tony Smith and Dave Dornan.
After I graduated, I felt a little lost without school. I had not prepared for the real art world nor had I been taught how to live as a professional artist. I started working full-time at the frame shop that employed me through college. I always maintained a studio and attempted to paint after work but that was almost impossible for me.
6 years later, and shortly after I got married, my husband kept encouraging me to BE A PAINTER. He had so much faith in me. With his push and his support, I quit my job and started painting full-time.
I did not have a body of work so I took a year to just paint, paint, paint. I was very disciplined, working at least 40 hours a week in my home studio. After that first year, I started applying to shows and putting work out there to be seen. I began at the Utah Art Festival and the Park City Art Festival and Finch Lane Gallery in SLC. I continued showing locally and then slowly added galleries and showing in other states.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There have definitely been some struggles along the way. I struggle with perfectionism, confidence, work/life balance (I still work at least 40 hours a week in my studio) and I’ve got a tiresome case of imposter syndrome. But that is all getting better every year. Wisdom and maturity as I get closer and closer to 50? I hope so!
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am primarily a still-life painter. Always oil paint. I push myself to be abstract in the details while still achieving the perception of reality. When I paint, I never blend. Instead, I layer thousands of marks side-by-side, swaths of color that are then translated by the observer. Two inches of canvas viewed from a few inches away might have a hundred brush strokes that seem to form nothing, but when the piece is considered as a whole, the effect is highly representational.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
Lately, most of my time is dedicated to commissions. I love painting something specific and special for a collector. It is so fun to be a part of a gift or a special occasion. People will send me the most creative, interesting ideas and objects for their paintings. It helps me to never run out of ideas!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ewbpaintings.com/paintings/current-work/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erinwberrett/
