Meet the Artist: Erin
A Canadian acrylic painter and online content creator with a mission to encourage the world to create art (⁎ᵕᴗᵕ⁎）
I've been on my artistic journey for as long as I can remember, with my love for painting coming to light through daily episodes of Bob Ross' 'The Joy of Painting' before catching the bus to elementary school. Painting continued to be a consistent hobby growing up, primarily self taught and learning through high school level courses at any opportunity possible. After graduating from WLU (Waterloo, Ontario) with my BBA (Honours, Marketing) in 2013, I moved across Canada to pursue job opportunities while independently exploring a new area of the country. I began juggling a variety of jobs and eventually found my creative outlet when I was hired to host 'paint night' style events in local bars and restaurants. After moving back to Ontario in late 2014, I brought my new knowledge and experience with me and began hosting my own step by step painting events in local venues. Popularity sky-rocketed, resulting in the creation and expansion of my team of fabulous hosting artists, and shifting my focus to managing the rapid growth of events across multiple regions in the province.
After six successful years and thousands of events run, 2020 caused a huge shift in direction for me when in-person painting become out of the question. My business dissolved and I quickly shifted online to begin live-streaming my painting process and continue spreading the love for painting. Having something to rely on as a decompressor and a way to re-connect with the world was more important than ever, and for me and many others, discussing and making art together online was (and continues to be) that answer. Since May 2020, I have hosted 100+ free online step by step painting tutorials, live streamed creative entertainment/content for 2,000+ hours, and have grown a community of 15,000+ across multiple social platforms online.
My goal moving forward is to continue to grow personally as an artist while continuing to provide accessible artistic education and inspiration for those looking to explore their creative side. With the creation of this website, the opening of my online art shop, and my more recent custom commission opportunities, I truly feel like I'm living my dream of being the freest form of an 'artist': balancing creating for myself and for others. Thank you endlessly for your continued support, and for being here with me through it all - and as Bob Ross says, 'Happy Painting'!
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