About

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 real estate listings.

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.

Since completing her MFA in 2014, Stearly has been awarded multiple grants, residencies, and fellowships from various universities and non-profit organizations across the United States.

Ms. Stearly is now devoted full time to her studio practice, 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."