Erica Schaffel is an emerging artist living in Asheville, NC. Her lifelong passion for art turned to purpose in 2017 when an undiagnosed autoimmune disease left her bedridden for six months. During this time Erica desperately wanted to paint, as a means of escape and as a way to process the intense emotions she felt during this challenging time. But the acrylics of her past were far too messy to manage while confined to a bed. 

 

This is when Erica first discovered watercolor, and the fluid nature of the medium transformed her life and work, forever. 

 

Erica’s approach to painting mirrors her own life’s unpredictable path - it’s spontaneous, unscripted, and underscored by the tension between light and dark. While Erica considers herself to be a mixed media artist, watercolors are the constant throughout her body of work. Through the fluid nature of this medium, and through her work itself, Erica seeks to remind herself and others that beauty can and will surface, even in the darkest of times, when you surrender and go with the flow.

Erica's work has been featured in several galleries across the United States, including Foundation Studios and Marquee in Asheville, and Jackson Junge Gallery in Chicago. 

 

You can see more of her work on Instagram at