Erika Stearly: Santerella, MA no. 101

Erika Stearly's domestic spaces have a magic that makes each painting feel as if it's your own home. Using a combination of watercolor and acrylic paint, Stearly sketches in delicate shapes and refines large blocks of color with watercolor pencils. The heavier bodied acrylic paint is used to fully cover existing passages and emphasize brushstrokes. Using both types of paint produces a more nuanced range of painterly effects. Despite being loosely rendered, exaggerated, and brightly colored, the collection of domestic items depicted in each painting evokes the sense of place.