Two of my main painting inspirations are my mother, Bernice Lane (Hesslein) Erickson on left and my grandmother, Blanche Rose (Nathan) Hesslein on Sullivan Street off of Washington Square Park during one of their outdoor painting exhibitions.

The painters that have inspired me are numerous. They interwove with my life. DeKooning, Picasso, Matisse, Cezanne, Duchamp, Motherwell, Frida Kahlo, Schnabel, Lee Krasner, Keifer, Joan Mitchell and Richter fall well in that arena. Their images strong and true, hovering in my imagination. Their painterly images forever visible, keeping the light on full as the painters on the sunset.

I can go back to my childhood viewing the countless paintings on the walls of our house. Works by the artists of my family and others that opened my eyes to the possibility that painting would be the direction to follow.