I am a fine artist, scenic painter and muralist focusing on dystopic oil paintings and collages of landscape and architecture.
My collages incorporate scrap materials from the murals and large-scale backdrops and scenery I paint working in opera, entertainment and production design. This professional experience makes me acutely aware of the colossal amount of waste in these industries. I find reward and inspiration in salvaging materials that would otherwise end up in dumpsters, such as scrap lumber, muslin and offcuts from CNC routers.
I’ve produced many prolific bodies of work over my career, which often become fonts of creativity. For example, during the Pandemic I painted watercolor portraits of about 120 homes in my community: my Houses of Lansdowne series. These paintings have since led to a self-published book and a steady stream of commissions through my website and Etsy shop.
Beyond formal training, I have benefited from residencies at the Vermont Studio Center, Weir Farm Art Center in Connecticut, ArtScape Gibraltar Point in Toronto, and the Palazzo Rinaldi in Southern Italy. When I’m not painting, I love spending time in nature—gardening, hiking, traveling and more—and I always thrive from passing the hours with my feline familiar and studio assistant, Rufus Theodore.
FOLLOW ERICA on Instagram: @erica_harney_artist
AND VISIT HER ONLINE: ericaharneyartist.com
