“Color has emotional weight and is related to the shape of space. Drawing orpainting, for me, means to look at the thing and transmit its vitality to the canvas.”Aimee Erickson (b. 1967, Paris) is an oil painter living in Portland, Oregon.She was trained as an illustrator and has developed a warm, inviting pictorialvoice grounded in traditional realism, informed by the principles of design, andinspired by nature and human experience. She holds a BFA in VisualCommunication Design, and has also studied with a number of prominentpainters including Sherrie McGraw, David Leffel, Burton Silverman, JosephPaquet, William Park, Stephen Hayes, and Ray Roberts.Aimee is the first woman artist to paint an Oregon gubernatorial portrait, thatof Barbara Roberts in 1997. The portrait hangs in the Oregon State House,upstairs on the legislature side.Aimee teaches studio and plein-air painting, drawing, and color theory locallyand at venues nationwide. She has a particular interest in what enables orinhibits our progress as artists. How do we learn to see what we cannot yet see?How do our beliefs influence our ability to perceive? What is the role ofknowledge in the realm of choice? How do we “tune in” to our artisticperception?Aimee’s work has been awarded top prizes in many national competitions,including Oil Painters of America, American Women Artists, the PortraitSociety of America, and multiple notable plein air competitions. Honors and awards:2017 Best of Show and Museum Purchase Award, Pacific Northwest Plein Air2017 Best of Show and Clyde Aspevig Judge's Choice Awards, Olmsted Plein Air2017 Door County Plein Air2017 "Six by Nine Sale," Portrait Society of America invitational show2017 Oil Painters of America National Juried Exhibition2017 Oil Painters of America Paint-out/paint-in, 6th place2016 Laguna Beach Plein Air Invitational2016 Second Place & Best Water, Pacific Northwest Plein Air2016 Best of Show, Just Plein Fun, Balboa Island, California2016 End-of-Residency Solo Exhibition, University Club of Portland2016 Still Life Honorable Mention, OPA National Exhibition, Dallas TX2016 5th Place, OPA's Best Little Paint-out in Texas2016 University Club of Portland Artist-in-Residence Alumni Showcase2016 Mid-Residency Solo Show, University Club of Portland2016 "All Along the Sierra" Juried Show at Epperson Gallery2016 "Less is More" LPAPA at Forest & Ocean Gallery2015 "Inspired by Sorolla" LPAPA at Forest & Ocean Gallery2015 "LPAPA After Dark," Forest & Ocean Gallery2015 "Recent Paintings" solo show at Brian Marki Fine Art2015 "Instructors' Show" Multnomah Arts Center2015 Strada Award, Laguna Beach Plein Air2015 OPA National Exhibition, Cutter & Cutter Fine Art, St. Augustine FL2015 Sonoma Plein Air2015 Mendocino Open Paint Out, Celebrity Guest Artist2015 Door County Plein Air2015 OPA Western Regional Exhibition2015 "Where in the World is Plein Air" online national paint-out2015 "Six by Nine Sale," Portrait Society of America invitational show2015 "Everyday Taste of Plein Air" invitational show, Giustina Gallery at OSU2015 Best QuickDraw and Honorable Mention, Carmel Art Festival2015 "Aimee Erickson and Wayne McKenzie" at Nancy Dodds Gallery2015 Honorable Mention, Kern County Plein Air2014 Award of Excellence for Portraiture, Oil Painters of America National JuriedExhibition2014 Award of Exceptional Merit, Portrait Society of America International Art of thePortrait Competition2014 Gold Medal, First Annual International Juried Artists Guild Exhibition2014Best of Show, American Women Artists national juried show2014 Artists’ Choice/Best of Show, Sonoma Plein Air2014 Award of Excellence for Portraiture, Oil Painters of America2014 Award of Exceptional Merit, Portrait Society of America International Art of thePortrait2014 Gold Medal for Portraiture, First Annual Artists’ Guild International Exhibition2014 First Place, Carmel Art Festival2014 First Place, Emerging Plein-Air Artists competition2014 Second Place, Pacific Northwest Plein Air2013 Best Two-Dimensional Work, American Women Artists national juried show2013 First Place, Pacific Northwest Plein Air2013 First Place, First Annual Eugene Paint-out2013 First Place, Honorable Mention, and People's Choice Award, Carmel Art FestivalEducation:BFA, Visual Communication Design. Brigham Young University, 1991Additional studies with Sherrie McGraw, Burton Silverman, and David Leffel; withRichard Pionk at the Art Students League of New York; and plein-air landscapepainting with Joseph Paquet at the Florence Academy of Art Organizations:Salmagundi Club, NY.Laguna Plein Air Painters Association, CA. (signature member)Oil Painters of America. (signature member)American Impressionist SocietyAudubon Artists, NYCAmerican Women ArtistsPortrait Society of America