I paint because I am a woman who is lost. I do not mind being lost; I prefer to seek and discover what we can experience in small, cloaked moments. We spot a reflection in a puddle and see our world in a two-dimensional mirror rooted to the earth- the sky on the ground, our face at our feet.

 

My paintings are psychological landscapes that communicate emotions and experiences through the vibrant language of color, anchoring itself in the recurring motif of puddles. Puddles, symbolizing emotions and experiences, are fleeting pools of water that mirror their surroundings. They materialize with the rain and vanish just as swiftly, paralleling the impermanence of human experience. Puddles also serve as metaphors for our past and future. They tend to form in the same location, etching impressions in the environment much like how our experiences deepen pathways within our psyche.

 

In the realm of Jungian psychology, water symbolizes the subconscious—a domain where the surface often conceals hidden depths. I draw inspiration from Jung's assertion that "Water means spirit that has become unconscious." My art delves into this uncharted spirit, abstractly painting the water's surface to evoke movement while hinting at the enigmatic depths beneath.

 

Encompassing the puddles is what I term "The Wilderness," a realm teeming with intense and multifaceted experiences. This wilderness may embody danger, the pursuit of spiritual transcendence, renewal, or a place of introspection. It's within the interplay between the puddle and the wilderness surrounding it that the emotions and tension I aim to convey take root.

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Erika b Hess 2025