Questions & Answers: Learning to Paint with Aimee Erickson
Jul 15, 2020by Jed Dorsey
This interview is from a recent live Q&A that we did for Acrylic University members in our private Facebook Community. We decided to share it here so that others can listen in on this guest interview with artist extraordinaire, Aimee Erickson. The first 30 minutes of the video is a time when I am asking Aimee about her art journey and background. The remaining 70 minutes is when she is answering questions from our members.
I actually visited Aimee at her studio in Portland, OR in the fall of 2019. It was so fun to see her creative space and also do some plein air painting together. (That week Peter and I were in the Portland area doing some filming for a course on color). Here is a 12 minute video that captures a portion of that trip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlKBgLAyGrA&t=124s
Aimee does a spectacular job portraying color and light in her portraits, landscapes, and still life's. She has won many prestigious awards and has been invited to participate in some pretty exclusive events. We were so honored that she took the time to do this interview.
These are the member questions that Aimee answered:
32:18 - Sigrid P - Your painting have so much great light! What are some of your best tips for creating great light?
41:45 - Rachel D - What steps did you take to get your art career rolling and selling art?
47:03 - Jan Y - Your paintings of sunsets are amazing, how they glow and feel so warm. Can you explain your process of painting these glowing scenes? Thank you.
54:48 - Tanya C - What advice /tips do you have for how to use perspective to create depth and distance ?
56:39 - Jay R - When you want to desaturate a color do you usually mix it with the complement, or do you neutralize it with gray or another neutral other than gray?
48:10 - Jaime S - What are your two most favorite colors to paint with? Do you have any examples of what you would consider an overworked painting?
1:09:26 - Johanne F - Questions for Aimee: you probably knew that but your name means "loved" in French (my first language is French). On that note, I do love your work and especially your use of colors. Can you please explain your thought process on how you select the design and color scheme for a painting? What inspires you the most to paint and why?
1:18:24 - Denver W - Do you ever use glazing?
1:21:43 - Tracy G - How do you sign your paintings? Do you always use red?
1:23 - Kim A - How long does it take you to complete an average size painting?
1:26:55 - Dorena P - I would love to know how Aimee titles her paintings.
1:29:20 - Denver W - Please explain "chroma peaks."
