Jan. 30, 2002 – An exhibition of new oils by Shari Erickson and limited-edition prints of her work will open with a meet-the-artist reception Friday evening in The Gallery at Wicker Wood and Shells in Mongoose Junction on St. John.
Erikson is well known locally for her alkyd-oil imagery of West Indian people and scenes. Her figurative painting style captures people in gentle movement, in such highly saturated colors that there's no question the setting is the Caribbean.
Although Erikson spends much of her time exploring the islands with her artist husband, Douglas Kahl Gifford, she completes many of her alkyd-oil, a la prima studies in their studio atop a mountain in western North Carolina.
Describing herself as an American contemporary painter, Erickson says, "My artist's eye returns again and again to the Virgins, especially St. John — to the color on brilliant color, sky to sea to shore, and always to the vibrant people." Her vision of island society, distinguished by her coupe de crayon, has brought her numerous exhibitions and attracted the attention of international collectors.
The alkyd-oil medium offers advantages over both oil and acrylic. Alkyds derive their name from the alcohols and acids used in their production, a chemical condensation process which yields polyester. Modifying polyesters with oils, a process pioneered in the 1920s, gives alkyds solubility and air-drying qualities. In fine arts application, they offer the advantages of easy pigmentation, high gloss, durability and low yellowing and cracking tendencies. Depending on their composition, they can be both tougher and more flexible than oil.
The Wicker Wood and Shells reception is from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday. The public is invited. For more information call Jim Nelson at 776-6909.