Erik Ross

My name is Erik Ross, a visual artist currently based in Austin, Texas, but originally from McKinney, Texas.

Probably around the time I was in grad school. I was painting at the time, and I had a really good buddy of mine, Garrett—shout out to Garrett. He was going through some stuff in his life, kind of in between things. He had just finished college, and I was in grad school. I told him, “Dude, if you need a place to stay for a year to figure things out, come here. We can hang out and both just see what’s next.” We were both in that same headspace.

While I was painting, he kept encouraging me to do more because he could see that I was really into it—even though I couldn’t quite see it myself at the time. And then, ironically, he went and signed me up for an art walk show—without telling me. It was the Art Walk in downtown Norman. They called me, and I had no idea what was going on, and he’s just laughing in the background as I take the call.

That moment really pushed the ball downhill for me—it was the first real nudge. Suddenly, I had to make a body of work. I didn’t know what that even meant at the time, or what my style really was. It looked kind of similar to what I do now, but it was still in its early, adolescent phase. But that experience—it just kind of threw me into it, in a weird way. And honestly, that’s what set the hooks.

I typically go into a session with a given energy, or some thoughts or experiences from my life that I pull from as it gives me a lane to draw in. From there I’ll start to just doodle and let things begin to just flow out without really getting too intentional with it. From there different forms and shapes will start to present themselves that I am really drawn to and I will pull them out of the chaos that is the initial doodle phase.

From here I develop these forms and shapes and fill up two pages of ‘progressions’ to flush out these concepts in different ways. This has something that’s helped me lock in my concepts overall and has been a useful tool for myself.

Man, honestly, the community was everything for me. When I was in Oklahoma City, it was rough. I didn’t really know anyone, and I didn’t have that kind of support. I tried to tap into the scene, but I was too in my own head and probably didn't put myself out there enough.

Moving to Austin, though, man, that changed everything. The second I got here, it was like the lights came on. The community here just, like, embraced me. Spray TX, for example, was huge for me. They made me feel comfortable, gave me space to just sit back and learn. I wasn’t just making art, I was watching and learning from everyone around me. It felt like I was back in school, but this time it was authentic, hands-on, watching how different artists worked, why they did what they did, just soaking it all up.

And now, I’ve got this tight circle, people I can be real with, no judgment. That’s what makes the art community so powerful for me, it’s not just about making stuff, it’s about having people who get it, who’ve got your back. And now, I try to give that back.

After my first solo show in Austin, I started feeling a bit bored with that style. Moving forward, I really want to tap more into the Fine Art space. I’m thinking of taking my work in a slightly more abstract direction. I still want to continue with the faces and all those elements, but I’d like to soften my approach and take things somewhere new—even if I’m not exactly sure where that is yet.

It feels like I’m stripping away from what I’ve already built, just to see what I can discover in that process. After the show, right before the Zilker show, I felt completely lost. I was drawing like I normally do in my sketchbook, and then something just clicked. I looked at a small section of a piece and thought, "I love how that part feels." So I started building from that. The intention became to strip away the facial structures and focus more on organic shapes—still using the same kind of fluid forms that define my style, but maybe just adding eyes or the occasional mustache.

At that point, I didn’t really know where it was going—I was just playing with shapes and forms, drawing more freely, and not getting stuck on making a face. It became more about being shape-driven. I’ve tried something like this before, using line work and similar ideas. I created a bunch of shapes, kind of like clouds—leaning more into doodling. I probably did six paintings in that style. A few went to good homes, but overall, I didn’t get much feedback on them.

That challenge made me pause. I kept telling myself—and hearing from others—that maybe I should lean into this direction more. Then a year goes by, and I’m like, I really just want to make the work feel more elevated and sophisticated. Now, I’m starting to incorporate an airbrush into my process, which is also shifting things for me.