Born 1967, Paris | Lives and works in Portland, Oregon

“Color has emotional weight and is related to the shape of space. Drawing or painting, for me, means to look at the thing and transmit its vitality to the canvas.”

Aimee Erickson is an oil painter known for her perceptive use of color and her grounding in traditional realism. Trained as an illustrator, she holds a BFA in Visual Communication Design and has studied with a number of prominent painters, including Sherrie McGraw, David Leffel, Burton Silverman, Joseph Paquet, William Park, Stephen Hayes, and Ray Roberts.

In 1997, Erickson became the first woman commissioned to paint an official gubernatorial portrait in Oregon. Her portrait of Governor Barbara Roberts hangs in the Oregon State Capitol.

Her recent work includes the publication of Plein Air Techniques for Artists, a comprehensive book on observational painting. She was selected by the U.S. Department of State to represent the United States in a cultural exchange in Turkmenistan, participating in a plein air painting program with artists from around the world. She currently serves as vice president of Oil Painters of America and leads Paint Club, her online teaching platform featuring twice-monthly live lessons that pair painting with poetry.

Erickson teaches painting, drawing, and color theory both in the studio and outdoors. Her teaching is grounded in inquiry: How do we learn to see what we cannot yet see? How do beliefs shape perception? What is the role of knowledge in aesthetic choice?

Her work has received top awards from national organizations including Oil Painters of America, American Women Artists, and the Portrait Society of America, as well as at numerous plein air events nationwide.

Selected Awards

2025

Best in Show, American Impressionist Society Small Works Showcase

Solo exhibition Home & Away, Meyer Gallery, Santa Fe

Participant, Oil Painters of America National Exhibition

2024

Artists’ Choice Award, Laguna Plein Air Invitational

Exhibitor, Oil Painters of America Salon Show

Exhibitor, Oil Painters of America Western Regional Exhibition

2023

Still Life Award of Excellence, Oil Painters of America National Exhibition

Exhibitor, American Impressionist Society Small Works Show

Exhibitor, Laguna Plein Air Invitational

U.S. Representative, Plein Air Cultural Exchange in Turkmenistan (U.S. Department of State)

Solo exhibition, Meyer Gallery, Santa Fe

2022

Participant, “The Wild Side,” Catalina Invitational

Solo exhibition, Meyer Vogl Gallery

2021

Second Place, Oil Painters of America Wet Paint Competition

2020

Participant, California Art Club Gold Medal Exhibition

Monotype Invitational, Oregon Society of Artists

2019

Grand Prize (Timothy Dills Memorial Award), Plein Air Easton

Artists’ Choice, Plein Air Easton

Artists’ Choice, Paint Oxford

Exhibitor at:

PACE (Plein Air Convention & Expo)

Laguna Beach Invitational

Sonoma Plein Air

Maui Plein Air

Catalina Invitational

Oil Painters of America National Exhibition

2018

Best Use of Color, Olmsted Plein Air Invitational

Second Place & Best New Artist, Plein Air Easton

Artists’ Choice, Paint Grand Traverse

Kinsman Family Foundation Award, Laguna Plein Air Invitational

National Scenic Area Award, Pacific Northwest Plein Air

Exhibitor, American Impressionist Society Small Works Showcase

Solo exhibition “Nocturnes,” Meyer Vogl Gallery

2017

Best of Show & Museum Purchase Award, Pacific Northwest Plein Air

Best of Show & Clyde Aspevig Judge's Choice Award, Olmsted Plein Air

Door County Plein Air

“Six by Nine Sale,” Portrait Society of America (invited)

Oil Painters of America National Juried Exhibition

6th Place, Oil Painters of America Paint-Out/Paint-In

2016

Best of Show, Just Plein Fun, Balboa Island, CA

2nd Place & Best Water, Pacific Northwest Plein Air

Honorable Mention (Still Life), OPA National Exhibition, Dallas, TX

End-of-Residency and Mid-Residency Solo Exhibitions, University Club of Portland

“All Along the Sierra,” Epperson Gallery

“Less is More,” LPAPA at Forest & Ocean Gallery

2015

Strada Award, Laguna Beach Plein Air

Best QuickDraw & Honorable Mention, Carmel Art Festival

Mendocino Open Paint Out, Guest Artist

Sonoma Plein Air

OPA National and Western Regional Exhibitions

“Inspired by Sorolla,” LPAPA at Forest & Ocean Gallery

“Everyday Taste of Plein Air,” Giustina Gallery at OSU

Solo exhibition, Brian Marki Fine Art

“Aimee Erickson and Wayne McKenzie,” Nancy Dodds Gallery

2014

Gold Medal, First Annual International Juried Artists Guild Exhibition

Best of Show, American Women Artists National Juried Show

Award of Excellence for Portraiture, Oil Painters of America

Award of Exceptional Merit, Portrait Society of America

Artists’ Choice, Sonoma Plein Air

1st Place, Carmel Art Festival

1st Place, Emerging Plein-Air Artists Competition

2013

Best Two-Dimensional Work, American Women Artists

1st Place, Pacific Northwest Plein Air

1st Place, Eugene Paint-Out

1st Place, Honorable Mention & People’s Choice, Carmel Art Festival

Education

BFA, Visual Communication Design, Brigham Young University, 1991
Additional study with:

Sherrie McGraw, David Leffel, Burton Silverman

Richard Pionk, Art Students League of New York

Joseph Paquet, Florence Academy of Art

Professional Affiliations

Vice President, Oil Painters of America (Signature Member)

Laguna Plein Air Painters Association, Signature Member

Salmagundi Club, NY

American Impressionist Society

Audubon Artists, NYC

American Women Artists

Portrait Society of America

International Projects & Residencies

U.S. Department of State–sponsored plein air painting exchange in Turkmenistan, representing the United States