Day 96/100: Erica Avila
Encouraging an Emerging California Artist Whose Work is Full of Color and Texture
Today, as part of my 100 Days of Encouragement Project, I’m celebrating Erica Avila — a Sacramento-based artist who uses thick, gloriously saturated marks of paint to create bold and charming florals. And her creative journey is a testimony to the power of desire and determination.
Erica’s grandparents were immigrants from Mexico, and her father was the first to go to college in her family. She grew up understanding the importance and privilege of education and the sacrifice that immigrants make to give their families a better life.
As a result, she was a serious student, not wanting to take the opportunity to learn for granted. She pursued science because she was interested in cancer research and eventually embraced a stable career in medical laboratory science. She was on-track to put in her 30 years and retire at 65. But then, in her 30’s, she started to feel an ache to create artistically.
At that time, Erica was taking care of her two babies during the day and working the swing shift at a busy hospital in the evenings, returning home at 1am, sleeping from 2am to 6am…and then starting all over again. Exhausted and overwhelmed, she tuned into what she really wanted (for the first time in her life) and started following her inner desire to create.
She began doing origami and adult coloring books to connect with her creativity, but ultimately settled on working with heavy-body acrylics and a palette knife as her main medium. Because acrylic dries rapidly, Erica can paint quickly and decisively.
She carries her scientific efficiency into her art practice, and her palette knife movements are graceful and without hesitation. Her color choices are often thoughtfully laid out as swatches before she begins painting. This color mapping allows her to exercise intuition in her mark-making. She doesn’t demand to know where the painting is going, because she trusts the color harmony will ensure that the piece will hang together well. As a result, she can allow forms to bloom onto the canvas or paper organically.
Erica still loves science, but she equally appreciates the different type of thinking required for artmaking. And she finds her soul enriched by the vulnerable and empowering act of painting.
It’s important to Erica that she model to her children what it looks like for a woman to pursue her passions and dreams. So, she began selling her work – even when she didn’t feel that she was ready.
Over time, she grew her art business while juggling the demands of her hospital work and her family, sustained by the joy of her creative practice. Not long ago, she was finally able to leave her medical career to become a full-time artist.
Now she wakes up looking forward to each day, feeling fully rested, and excited to create. Discovering her creative gifts was an act of disruption — it flew in the face of familial and culture expectations. But she doesn’t regret it! In fact, she considers it part of her mission to help other emerging artists take risks, build their businesses, and discover the same kind of joy that uplifts her. Like me, she has a passion for equipping people who are coming into their artistic expression later in life.
I really appreciate the way that Erica’s paintings communicate so much with simple clarity. Each knife stroke carries a punch and there are no wasted marks. She produces cheerful, playful works that make the most of color, shapes, and texture. Eye candy is a fair appellation!
How You Be an Encouragement
Please check out Erica’s offerings on Instagram, follow her, and send her some encouragement today by commenting on one of her posts or sending her a direct message.
Instagram: @ericaavilaart
Website: www.ericaavilaart.com
