Scott lives and works in Portland, Oregon. As a current member of North Coast Seed Studios, he has worked and exhibited all along the West Coast, including: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Gallery; Gallery One Embarcadero; Oakland Museum of California; Ghetto Gourmet of Oakland; Raising A Reader; CAP Art Auction; Star Wars Celebration; Wizard World Comic Con; Multnomah Arts Center; and various galleries and event spaces. He has instructed painting events at local venues around the city including the Portland Art Museum. His artwork has been published by Abrams Books, Del Rey, Random House, Scholastic and Lucasfilm.
"My work is a strange mix of observation, pop culture, art history references and free association. It's like the feeling of being inside of a David Lynch film, where you are drawn into the emotion of a non linear narrative and have to find your own meaning. There’s a connection present, or something that draws you in. It’s my job to create that connection through paint and the 2D surface. Sometimes it reveals itself quickly and organically; most times it’s a struggle which takes time and hard work to reveal the soul of it. I want to share, with the viewer, the progress of this struggle in my paintings.
My process usually involves sketching from life to capture the physical place or moment, then bringing those studies into the studio to edit, simplify and sometimes deconstruct. I utilize my sketchbooks and mediums which can be used to capture thoughts or moments quickly: graphite, colored pencils, watercolor and gouache. Paintings based on these studies generally involve the use of acrylic, oil, and sometimes collage. Final paintings are executed on canvas or custom wood panels. I also build custom wood framing and cradled wood panels for many of the pieces which adds to the personalized story I‘m telling.
Painting for me is a necessity. It is my ultimate means of expression and communication. My goal in painting is much like that of a songwriter: Creating a riff or section of music which pulls people in, makes them dance, think, or look at their own life in a new way. I’m not referring to radio hits that get played every hour on the hour, making you despise them over time, but pieces that invite and reward multiple viewings, always presenting new and interesting perspectives and discoveries. It doesn’t have to be explainable — instead it should contain a depth and intricacy which invites a visual dialogue. I am intrigued by the balance between representation versus abstraction. There is something so human and beautiful about playing between these two worlds — the real and the unknown." - Scott Erwert
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