Erika Lee Sears is a self-taught oil painter based in Portland, Oregon, whose work captures the quiet beauty and poetry of everyday life. Through a sensitive balance of light, color, and gesture, she transforms simple domestic moments into timeless reflections on intimacy, solitude, and human connection.
Initially pursuing a career outside the arts, Sears continued to paint passionately in her free time before ultimately dedicating herself fully to her practice. Her subjects—kitchens bathed in morning light, bowls of fruit, moments of stillness, or the familiar rhythms of family life—reveal her fascination with the fleeting yet meaningful moments that compose modern existence. Each canvas is both a personal diary and a meditation on mindfulness, celebrating the grace found in ordinary experience.
Over the years, Sears has exhibited her work widely in solo and group exhibitions. Her 2025 solo show Lemons to Olives at Square One Gallery explored transformation and memory through vivid still lifes and quiet interiors. Other notable exhibitions include Summerscapes at Maybaum Gallery and her earlier joint presentation with Erik Parra, where her compositions of fruit, shadow, and domestic space revealed her ability to blend emotional warmth with formal precision.
Beyond gallery exhibitions, Erika’s paintings have reached a wide audience through features in art and culture publications and media appearances, highlighting her as one of the leading contemporary voices exploring the emotional depth of the everyday.
Today, Erika Lee Sears continues to paint daily, maintaining a disciplined creative practice that bridges art and life. Her works serve as meditations on simplicity, offering viewers a reminder to slow down and rediscover beauty in the familiar.
