Shari Erickson
“Find your voice and embrace it. Draw and sketch constantly…stay loose–enjoy yourself. Fight any sneaky voices that tell you judgmental lies and discourage you. Work. Work.”
Shari Erickson is an American contemporary artist who spends much of her time exploring the Caribbean. Vibrant light and color infuse her art with warmth and heart. The first time she traveled to the Caribbean, she knew her color sense had found a home.
For Shari, inspiration is easy to come by in the beautiful islands. There’s an abundance of tropical landscapes, bright colors everywhere, and a lack of commercialization. She began painting in her youth and realized that she had a different vision. As she grew up, she became aware that she was literally seeing more details in things than others. In the way people might react passionately to hearing new music, she reacted the same to a new shape, a new color, a new way light falls through a tree. Realizing all this, she studied and worked with a goal towards becoming a professional artist.
Shari became an accomplished artist in her native Atlanta and completed her education at the Ringling School of Art. Her personal focus has been on the creative contemplation of the human form. USAir and Liat Air has published her art in their promotions. The US Department of the Interior selected her art for its US Virgin Islands publications. Recently, she was selected by the US State Department for America’s Art Program.
Shari spends her time in the Caribbean with her artist husband, Douglas Kahle Gifford. She sketches in the islands and paints in her North Carolina studio.