I'll be traveling to Ireland in May, and to help make my trip possible I will be selling my teaching demos for $125 unframed which includes tax and shipping. Framing is $150 extra including tax and shipping. Give me a call if you are interested. Reif

Banner Mountain 9 1/4" x 12 1/4"

Early Morning 9 1/4" x 12 1/4"

Goose Island 9 1/4" x 12 1/4"

Graeagle Pond 9 1/4" x 12 1/4"

Hilltop Village 9 1/4" x 12 1/4"

Lincoln Clouds 9 1/4" x 12 1/4"

Lupin Field 9 1/4" x 12 1/4"

Ocean Clouds 9 1/4" x 12 1/4"

Orchard Blaze 9 1/4" x 12 1/4"

River Sentries 9 1/4" x 12 1/4"

Rocky Ascent 9 1/4" x 12 1/4"

Vineyard Splendor 9 1/4" x 12 1/4"

Weathered Timbers 9 1/4" x 12 1/4"

Reif Erickson Art Studio 808 Lincoln Way Auburn CA 95603

Rear View Images

Following are Rear View Mirrors, insight into hindsight and social commentary. These are available as giclee prints mounted into auto side mirrors displayed on a plexiglass frame with blue tint mirrors as background and sold for $250 each, size is 11"x14" plus mirror depth protruding from the frame. Image must be viewed from the side.! Enjoy.

Mounted Mirror Image

Transmutations in Time



Close Encounters

Will Work

Closer than you Think

Human Rights

Devouring its children

In Sight
Next Years' Harvest

On Notice

Open Road

P.E.A.C.E.

The Unwanted

Line Series

Experiments in simplicity of line, utilizing a meditative approach to monotypes. Keep it simple and add enough variation to keep it interesting. Used water base oil paint on glass and a single edge razor blade for effects. Enjoy.

LINE SERIES NO. 16

LINE SERIES NO. 1

LINE SERIES NO. 2

LINE SERIES NO. 3

LINE SERIES NO.4

LINE SERIES NO. 5

LINE SERIES NO. 6

LINE SERIES NO. 7

LINE SERIES NO. 8

LINE SERIES NO. 9

LINE SERIES NO. 10

LINE SERIES NO. 11

LINE SERIES NO. 12

LINE SERIES NO. 13

LINE SERIES NO. 14

LINE SERIES NO. 15

DECLARATION OF PEACE

Eight Score years ago our sisters brought forth a Declaration of Sentiments that began to loosen the chains of tyranny against women of all races. And now, we are engaged in a great civil battle where our inalienable rights have been eroded from within, testing whether this great nation or any nation so conceived in liberty and justice can long endure. We have failed to bring peace on a battlefield thousands of miles away that threatens our very resources and has bankrupted our economy putting the burden of debt upon our children’s children. Now is the time to change the course of history and to stand against the tyranny that has destroyed our personal freedoms. Now is the time to stand against the tyranny that robs our youth to wage battles of little consequence. Now is the time to turn our focus and our resources not on war but on building a future of peace for all mankind. A time foretold by the prophets of old and is here now. A time to turn the swords of injustice into plowshares is upon us. Now is the time to work for peace and transform our army from a killing machine into the human hands of loving kindness that can secure our future and the future of our children. Let us protect the innocent, empower the weak, assist the needy, celebrate diversity and enrich our environment, for now is the time for peace. A time testing whether this nation or any nation so dedicated can long endure. May peace be the guiding light that leads this great nation out of the blindness of tyranny.

Let not the lives of our soldiers die in vain but let us now learn and move forward in our struggle for world peace and step down from our place of domination and stand with all our brothers and sisters from every nation as we dedicate our resources to a world in peace and diversity. Let us go where we have not gone before and give the world the inalienable right to live in peace that from this basis all rights are derived and realized. Let us go forward in peace and put down our weapons of mass destruction. Let us go forward in peace and put down our weapons of mass destruction. Let us go forward in peace and feed the hungry. Let us go forth in peace and educate the youth of today to build a greater future for tomorrow. Let us go forward in peace and provide self sufficiency to our poorer brothers and sisters. Let us go forward in peace and celebrate the diversity of cultures and put an end to senseless genocide. Let us go forth in peace and build a better earth for all our children to enjoy. Let us triumph and go forth in peace.

Reif Erickson

Been working on my Mondrian Series and have developed a way of encoding names and phrases. You could commission one of your favorite mottos, Company Name or your own name and have it represented as a 2-d work of art. Here'e my first two I've done so far.

"Reif Erickson" Acrylic on Canvas 24"x30"

"Oprah Winfrey" Acrylic on Canvas 24"x30"

This is an on-site painting of the interior of a law office of Thomas M Marovich in Sonora which I did in the "Paint-In" at the Vault Gallery early in March. Maybe you could have me do an interior of your office as a special commission!

The following are some more demos from my classes

Ascention 9 1/4 x 12 1/4 pastel

Beach at Pierce Point 9 1/4 x 12 1/4 pastel Point Reyes, CA

Looking at Pierce Point 9 1/4 x 12 1/4 pastel Point Reyes, CA

Pacific Grove 9 1/4 x 12/1/4 pastel

Minimal Expansionism

MINIMAL EXPANSIONISM

NEW WORKS
By Reif Erickson

Out of tradition into abstraction, traditional painter and landscape artist Reif Erickson has made bold moves into uncharted territory he refers to as “Minimal Expansionism.” Inspired by the work and simplicity of Mondrian, who coincidently was also a landscape artist, Erickson begins with an unorthodox mathematical framework into which his abstractions emerge. Using sequences of numbers Reif refers to as “integral sets of non repeating intervals, which is ever expanding at less than 2 to the nth power." Basically the numbers on the first row represent the measure of space between the lines, and the measure of adjacent spaces are not repeated in the design.

Erickson, inspired by Mondrian, superimposes bold colors within “non-adjacent spaces” to break up and simplify the underlying expansive field. Imposed on this grid like network are adornments to the connecting points which deviate from Mondrian. Unique in Erickson’s approach is his use of mathematics and approach to the spacing of the lines in the grid. For example, Erickson states, “The simplest solution set would be x=2n which would evolve into the sequence of 64, 16,4,1,2,8,32, where the adjacent intervals are illustrated as

64 16 4 1 2 8 32

80 20 5 3 10 40

84 21 7 11 42

85 23 15 43

87 31 47

95 63

127

Here, the central intervals (1, 3, 7, 15, 31, 63, 127) are 2 to the nth power -1.

A more closely spaced sequence is:

16 10 4 1 2 6 18 11 28

26 14 5 3 8 24 29 39

30 15 7 9 26 35 59

31 17 13 27 37 63

33 23 31 38 65

39 41 42 66

57 52 70

68 80

96

Erickson says his original objective was “to develop a grid based on variation of shapes” and therefore chose a more formulated approach to interval spacing. The development of the grid remains subjective to the artist as well as the coloring of the rectangles. The enhancement of the connection points evolved later in his work as a means to expand the grid beyond the boundaries of the canvas, as well as angling the grid within the canvas. Thus, Erickson refers to his painting as “Expansionist.” The minimalist approach refers to the adornments and coloration of the grid itself creating a flatness of the field upon which the viewer may experience the expansion of space. Simplicity contained within complexity is Erickson’s means of holding attention. Deviating from Mondrian’s adherence to strictly vertical and horizontal lines Erickson feels his “non-vertical lines adds more to the underlying dynamics of growth while maintaining perpendiculars adds to stability and strength.”

Erickson foresees his work developing into 3-dimensions where he envisions his work as grids used in architectural elements, and stair rails, and even cylindrical patterns. His next adventure in the experience of these forms will be the cutting out of the white spaces to make room for a visual window or mirror to see the ever changing world. “To view simplicity as the overlay unto the complexity of growth in a world inundated with information expanding exponentially!” Reif’s earliest experiments with grids were originally oversimplified and static and were made more complex by superimposing the mirror image of the grid on top of itself as in 2(31x40) and ultimately the double mirror image of two grid patterns in 4(31x45). “In the creative process one must be willing to risk destroying the original concept to arrive at a solution that maintains interest and harmony.”

All this work is a result of recent efforts put into “New Works” a collective exhibition scheduled for 2009 by the artists in residence at the Arts Building, Auburn, CA. For more info on the upcoming series of exhibitions call 530-885-2787.

Thanks for having an interest,

Keep in touch

reif@reif.com