We were lucky to catch up with Evee Erb recently and have shared our conversation below.

Evee, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

Learning any new craft is a huge time investment. Formal artistic training takes a lot of determination to create good work, and tenacity when you inevitably make bad work–and yes, every single artist out that has at some point made bad work! The moments when you struggle and push through are the moments when you learn the most! Trial and error is a great way to begin learning any craft. When learning to hone your artistic skills the most valuable tools in your toolkit are your failures.

Evee, 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 a professional realist oil painter with an interest in exploring identity, memory, and trauma. After I earned by BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art, I worked at the North Carolina Museum of Art and then began to teach, lecture, and serve on various curatorial jury panels. I have shown my work in exhibitions across the country, and am now a resident artist at East Oaks Studio in Raleigh, North Carolina. While I accept several portrait commissions each year, in my personal work I navigate themes of love, nature, grief, gender, and healing in the hope of confronting core aspects of a shared human experience. I believe strongly in the healing that art can provide, both in its creation as an artist and in its engagement as a viewer. Art touches the soul in its greenest pastures and darkest corners to remind us that we are human. In this way I ultimately aim to foster deep connections through my work, and paint as a way of intentionally seeing and relating to the world.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

(Trigger warning: mental health, suicide)

One of my biggest goals as an artist is to foster safety and healing in navigating mental health and trauma. My journey to become a full-time oil painter was honestly far longer and harder than I ever anticipated. This is perhaps an abridged version of that story, however hopefully the broader strokes can resonate with someone.

Growing up I always wanted to be a professional artist, and I attended college to study oil painting. It never once crossed my mind that I would want to do anything but paint. However, after my first year in college I quickly realized that the kind of painting education that was offered in my program was not what I’d been looking for as it focused less on formal technique and classical atelier training, and more on “concept”. Unfortunately, this is an experience I know many have shared in their pursuit of art education. I therefore made the difficult choice to leave the painting program and instead study ceramics and textiles, wherein I gained a valuable education encompassing sculpture, anatomy, art history, craft, and material composition which I apply to my painting practice every day.

…And then one day the phone rang, and, in the matter of moments, my life changed. While I was finishing my degree I lost two of my closest friends to suicide. Everything else became so small then, as I suddenly found myself in a world where music was met with moments of silence, words shrunk to hushed condolences and well-wishes, and art had no meaning because nothing had meaning. I was thrown into the depths of intense grief, depression, and survivor’s guilt. My friends who passed had saved me from that exact same fate several years prior, and at the time had encouraged me to use painting as a way to heal. Now here I was–lost, mourning, broken. I couldn’t paint, I couldn’t even bring myself to pick up a paint brush.

So I abandoned all of my painting and drawing supplies to the abyss of my messy closet, and in an impulse bought my first loom on eBay. What better way to curse death and fight with the fates than to weave the damn threads yourself? I spent months at my loom, throwing myself into my work and unknowingly I began to weave a new fate–only this time it wasn’t for my friends who had passed, but for myself; one thread at a time. Slowly I began to weave not because it helped me survive or make sense of death, but because it introduced me to a new life. A life where creativity could once again take form, where happiness, joy, and discovery could coexist with grief. A life where color could pierce through the darkness.

By some small miracle (and a LOT of love and support from my friends and family) I finished out my degree and continued my art practice. After years, I was finally able to pick up that brush again. With a heart full of gratitude, I now happily have a career as a full-time oil painter. It took a hell of a lot of work, and a lot of time, but finally I began to remember how to use what my friends taught me and find healing through art. I offer this part of my story in the hope that I can pass their lesson on to you too.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

That’s such a difficult question to answer, because really everything about it is rewarding! If I had to pick one thing though, I would say community. Being able to share your work with a community and build relationships with collectors is of course immensely rewarding, however that’s only part of it. My artistic training has led me to meet and learn from some truly incredible people, and a big part of that is because, in my experience, really good artists want to encourage one another.

Some people seem to think that in order to be a good artist you have to viciously compete in some money-grabbing art market shell game. This isn’t true at all. In fact, really good artists don’t need to viciously compete because their art is, well, really good! Rather, good artists honor the age-old roles of mentor and apprentice, paying it forward in the spirit of artistic learning and, through their teaching, create other good artists too!

As a painter, it can be so difficult to find resources and other artists to work with–a community to teach, learn, and critique together in an effort to truly nurture that creativity. I’ve had the incredible fortune of being a part of many amazing artistic communities over the years, and my current residency at East Oaks Studio is certainly no exception. My mentor Louis Carr teaches through his motto of fostering “relationships of grace”, and I think that’s really what being an artist is all about. At the end of the day, I leave the studio counting my lucky stars that I get to work hard trying to find beauty alongside a truly beautiful artistic community, and I strive to carry on that creative legacy in the future.

Contact Info:

• Website: eveeerb.com
• Instagram: @eveeerb

Image Credits
“Moonstone”, oil on panel. 16”x12”. “Silent Prayer”, oil on panel. 12”x9”. “The Light Within”, oil on panel. 9”x12”. In the studio… “Sentinel”, oil on panel. 16”x12”. “Plume”, oil on panel. 10”x8”. “To Steal A Song”, oil on panel. 10”x8”.