Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Erin Lacerra. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Erin, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
As a child living in rural Pennsylvania, I shared with my parents my dream of becoming a professional artist. They advised that it would be a difficult path and encouraged me to pursue something more practical. I can’t blame them; we came from a family of farmers and laborers, and they didn’t know any folks with successful careers in the arts. So, I tucked away my dream, but maintained a consistent painting practice.
In high school, I won an award for an art piece and had my first opening, which boosted my confidence. In college, I took some art classes, but completed a degree in social work. Early in my career, I worked in the field of children’s mental health and later transitioned into education.
When I turned 26, I moved to Portland, OR, and held a number of odd jobs as a food truck employee, a brand manager, a grant writer, a tea server, and a teacher. I played roller derby, discovered shamanic journey meditation, and performed in an art rock band. I tried to choose roles with creative flair, hoping that eventually, creativity would become my career.
I continued to paint when and where available — bedroom floor, dark basement, tiny closet — which fluctuated depending on my employment and living situation at any given time. I would casually host an art opening about once every year or so, until one day, it hit me. At 30 years old, I realized creativity wouldn’t just become my career. I had to make it my career. I had been struggling to find enough time to devote to my painting and felt creatively zapped after working my regular jobs. I needed to make an intentional shift in my life if the direction of it were to change.
That was the moment I made the terrifying decision to leave steady employment and launch my full-time art business. I had nothing saved and few immediate prospects. Logically, it seemed reckless, but intuitively I had never been more clear.
The same day I quit my job, I received a call. It was an opportunity for an art show. A morsel of validation. A breadcrumb on the winding path of my destiny. I’ve been following those breadcrumbs ever since.
Erin, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am an artist based in Portland, Oregon, creating in the genre of transcendental surrealism. My paintings are uplifting, otherworldly and colorful. I gather my inspiration from dreams, meditations, nature, psychological and emotional experiences, and spiritual journeys. My artistic influences include Leonora Carrington, Dorothea Tanning, Frida Kahlo, and other pioneers of paradigm-shattering artistic movements.
For me, painting is a reflection of my relationship with nature. As a child, I developed a spiritual understanding of the environment: plants, animals, the weather, and the elements — each with their own sentience. I was sensitive to energy and nurtured a kinship with the unseen world. I began to channel this connection through creative expression.
In adulthood, I cultivated dream and meditation practices that came to influence my painting. In particular, shamanic journey meditation strengthened my ability to seek guidance and communicate with the helping spirits I had befriended as a child. In some disciplines, these alternate realms of consciousness are believed to be the true reality. While I don’t know that one state of reality or consciousness is more true than another, I believe our experiences in every plane of existence have value.
Each journey into the otherworld, whether through dreams or meditations, provides a wealth of visual information: symbols, figures, landscapes, ceremonies, healings, conversations, and adventures. Sometimes I know what the messages mean, and sometimes not. One thing is certain, the visions motivate my work, and my paintings are imbued with their magic.
I have experimented with many mediums over the course of my career, but watercolor has become my greatest collaborator and primary medium. Painting with it feels like having a conversation. When I apply a wash of color, it is my turn to speak. As the paint disperses, it is my turn to listen. Sometimes the process is slow, and other times rapid. I find working with it to be like a meditation in and of itself. Locking into a creative flow is a form of trance and profound things can come of it.
I am also captivated by moments of transition; such as sunrise, sunset, and twilight. The spectrum of light, atmosphere and colors of these times form the backdrop for the majority of my paintings. These are also the occasions for which the veil between worlds is most thin and spiritual connection is most accessible.
I likewise have an interest in ancestral lineage, life, death, and other lives. I am fascinated by birds, branches, and the beyond. I make space for both the light and dark aspects of existence in my work to soothe the hurt that comes with experiencing loss and the difficulties of being human. Exploring the continuation of the spirit beyond our perceived reality gives me comfort. It is my mission to represent the unseen world as equally substantial to the seen world.
It takes drive, courage and ingenuity to have a successful art career. It means following your heart, even when you can’t see the path forward and even if it seems like everyone else is telling you not to. The most important thing I have learned walking this uncharted adventure is to trust myself. It’s often the case that I have a challenge before me and no instructions to follow. I have to make it up as I go. I’m still working on having faith in myself, but I’m proud of how far it’s brought me. I hope to inspire others to listen to their intuition and follow their dreams too, even if it seems crazy.
This isn’t to say this way of life isn’t a difficult one. I have had to make many sacrafices and rely heavily on variables I cannot control, like painting sales. Long gone are the days of painting on my bedroom floor. My hard work has finally afforded me the ability to rent a house large enough to give my painting studio a room of its own, but I still worry about paying the rent at times. It keeps a fire under me to keep building and improving my business strategies and offerings. It’s tough to wear multiple hats as an independent artist, but there’s nothing more valuable to me in the world than knowing my art provides joy to someone else. I get to witness this firsthand on a regular basis and it brings meaning to my life.
There are many avenues for those who wish to become collectors of my work. Paintings and prints are available through my website, at select retail stores, at limited in-person events and for wholesale. Perhaps the most meaningful way I share my work is through the workshops I teach, in which I share my process for tapping into the otherworld and manifesting spiritual insights with the help of watercolor. The focus is on the process, not the product. It’s about letting go, connecting with the inner child, and engaging in painting as a form of trance work. For those interested in joining me for a workshop either in person or online please visit: erinlacerra.com/events.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
In 2022, I experienced a devastating injury that permanently impaired my hearing, leaving me with severe tinnitus and hearing loss. My ability to hear normally was irrevocably altered. In the aftermath, I had difficulty sleeping, cried every day, had crippling anxiety, severe depression and thoughts of ending my life.
The accident occurred just before the holiday season – a very busy time for me as I had several big shows lined up for selling my work. I had to cancel some of them, but I pushed myself to attend two – one in Seattle and one in Portland. I remember thinking “why did this happen to me and at the worst possible time”. Miraculously, those shows ended up being the best of my career. Now thinking back, the challenge and distraction of those events kept my feet moving at a crucial time. Somehow, I accessed a deep strength I didn’t know I had.
My work also underwent a significant shift. Up until the injury, I presented work that featured local scenery of the Pacific Northwest, because it was what I thought might sell. I painted surreal works, but I was timid about showing them and how they might be recieved. The injury changed me so profoundly and I no longer cared about what might sell. I leaned more fully into representing the coexistence of life and death, as well as the presence of the light, the dark in all things. It was a miracle I was able to paint at all, so when I did, it was raw, real and – to my surprise – embraced by my audience.
My relationship to the spirit world also deepened, having plummeted into the depths of grief and despair. What I discovered was that this was not a time for my life to end. It was a time for expansion. Whatsmore, I knew it wouldn’t be the last time I experienced a devestating loss. This was an opportunity to prepare myself to handle the tribulations that lay ahead. It had always been my mission to transmute the complexities of life through art, but following the injury, I realized the portrayl of these lessons in my paintings could also provide a sense of healing for others.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
Up until my injury, I was reliant on in-person markets for a large portion of my income. This allowed me to sell my work quickly, directly and build a collector base. It was very valuable in many ways, but it was incredibly labor-intensive. It was also very challenging to navigate the intensity of a live sales environment with my hearing impairments. To support my health and ensure the sustainability of my business, I realized I needed to pivot away from the market scene.
Several collectors had been urging me to offer painting workshops. I was hesitant, because though I had previous experience teaching, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to return to it. Then, it occurred to me that if I were to guide adult students through my own process of creative channeling, it could actually be really fun. So I did a private session with two of my amazing collectors and guess what? It was really fun!
I decided to also incorporate the element of shamanic journey meditation to nurture connection with the spirit realm. Then, I helped students express the imagery and insights they gleaned from their meditations in watercolor. Sometimes, the sessions bring up deep emotional themes, which harmonizes beautifully with my background in the therapeutic arts.
Launched in January of 2024, my Dream in Watercolor workshops have allowed me to eliminate my dependence on in-person markets and have proven to be the most profound direction I’ve taken in my career thus far. It provides healing and creative empowerment for the participants, but also for me. Another breadcrumb along my uncharted path as a professional artist.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Erinlacerra.com
- Instagram: @erinlacerraart
- Facebook: @erinlacerraart
- Other: Email: [email protected]
Image Credits
Photographer of personal photo: Robbie Augspurger – @robbieaugspurger