Bio

Erin Elizabeth Ross is a Canadian painter most known for her exploration of the prairie landscape. Her work references the tradition of landscape painting, but is distinct and firmly rooted in the contemporary. While landscape is the genre that’s defined her career, Ross has three distinct bodies of work; landscape, fire and floral. Her dynamic use of color and light, and her capacity to capture the natural world tethers all three genres. 

Ross is interested in intersections between beauty and discomfort, memory and reality, nostalgia, familiarity and perception. Her work is informed by the natural world, an interest in design and a passion for color. She recently relocated her main studio to Vancouver BC, while also maintaining her studio roots in her home province of Alberta.

She holds a BFA from the University of Alberta, and studied Visual Communication and Design at Medicine Hat College.   Her work has been represented in commercial galleries since 2008, and sits in multiple private and public collections.  Along with her commercial representation, Erin has had work in shows at the Art Gallery of Alberta, Latitude 53 contemporary Art Gallery, Harcourt house, the Art Gallery of St. Albert, and created an 8 panel public art piece for the city of Edmontons Public Art Collection.

Public attention for Erin's work has included an award of excellence in Illustration from Communication Arts magazine, a feature article in Avenue Edmonton and SEE Magazine, a documentary segment on Alberta Primetime, and interviews with CBC Radio One, Profile magazine, Shaw TV, Telus TV, the Edmonton Journal. 

A statement on her landscape work:

My work is a reflection of where I come from and how I relate to my surroundings.  With my landscape pieces, I take the romantic idea of the prairies, the “golden west”, then blow it apart and explore it. 

My work acknowledges traditional styles and genres of painting, but in an unexpected way.  I like playing with nostalgia, familiarity and perception, and I have a deep interest in color theory.

I use memory, personal and found photos as influence.

A statement on the fire work: 

As a Canadian landscape painter I’m passionate about acknowledging the tradition of landscape painting that came before me.  I love painting the landscape I grew up in in a style that feels both referential and contemporary.  This fire work is an extension of my landscape practice- where I take the romantic idea of the prairies, “the Golden West”, then blow it apart and explore it.  I’m interested in the intersections between beauty and discomfort, memory and reality, and how we as humans explore these intersections. 

It took me a few years of working in the landscape genre, intentionally exploring complete nothingness (only land and sky), before I decided to introduce more literal elements into my paintings. I experimented with a few things, but eventually came to the idea of breathing life back into the old, burnt out and dilapidated structures that dot the prairie landscape. So I started depicting fire destroying structures in rural settings. I wanted these fire pieces to feel both familiar and uncanny- I want you to be unsettled and enthralled at the same time when you look at them. The dichotomy and tension of the beautiful, picturesque landscape interrupted by a house on fire creates a narrative I like (and intentionally don’t want to control).

As with all my work, I like playing with nostalgia, familiarity and perception.

I use memory, personal and found photos as reference, and I love playing with color. 

A statement on the floral work:

The floral work furthers my interest in exploring the natural world, but this time in the tradition of formal still-life. Again, drawing from tradition, these pieces are romantic, moody and familiar. They also celebrate color and paint.