Marilyn Erickson

About the Artist:

"I grew up in the crowded West Side of Chicago where concrete covered almost everything but a nearby park, offering me only a touch of nature, a place to dream. I was always fascinated with western cowboy movies, especially those made in Red Rock country. I imagined myself being there in all that amazing beauty, riding a horse through the canyons like some sort of female Robin hood. I would dream of heading into the Arizona sunsets, having campfires under the stars, discovering new places and experiencing endless adventures."

"Many of the movies I watched were made here in Sedona (over 50 of them)…so it’s no wonder I was captivated by Red Rock Country. The theaters at that time were like magical palaces, an escape into another world for just those few hours. My personal escape was to the Southwest landscape."

"I was awarded a 4 year scholarship to the Chicago Art Institute as a teenager and also a 4 year scholarship at the Chicago School of Music playing the trumpet. After joining the Chicago Women’s Symphony as a professional trumpet player, I played in an all girl dance band and travelled around the Midwest. I never stopped painting even when I was travelling."

"At age 20, I came out to Arizona where I met my husband Ken and we lived in Phoenix for a period, followed by Southern California and then Lake Tahoe in Nevada. In 1992, we came back to Arizona and settled in Sedona. My art and my spirit are deeply imbedded in this stunning and colorful landscape, the amazing Southwest, where I find an endless source of inspiration, a virtual lifetime of subject matter to explore. When I’m working on a painting, I am actually living in that painting, walking through the landscape, climbing the mountains, feeling the essence of the place. Painting is truly a meditative experience for me."

STUDY:

"I studied with the German master painter Frederic Taubes and the Italian master Pietro Di Salvi, learning the old master techniques of oil painting, using under paintings and glazes to achieve a luminosity in my work. I later received my Master’s Degree in art and printmaking at California State University, Northridge."

"I’ve have had numerous exhibitions throughout the United States and my paintings are in collections both private and corporate throughout the United States and in several European countries. My paintings were shown in the Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena, California."

"I now have my own gallery and studio in Sedona, Arizona with a wonderful panoramic red rock view and Oak Creek rushing below. I’m inspired by the surrounding beauty and have a lifetime of subject matter here in the Southwest."
Marilyn Erickson