Erica Driver
Maker Monday - June 2026
About the Artist
Name: Erica Driver
Medium: acrylic & pastel painting
Years creating: a lifetime
SCAA Member since: 2024
Based in: Little Compton, RI
Website: https://www.ericadriver.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ericadriverart
Click an image to view portfolio slideshow
This month we’re thrilled to feature the talented painter Erica Driver. Erica hasn’t been involved with SCAA for long, but she has made an impression on both staff and visitors with her artwork. As one of our many Art Heist attendees, she has also donated work to the event for the past 2 years.
But Erica’s involvement in the arts doesn’t stop at SCAA. This spring, one of her paintings was juried into an American Women Artists exhibition held at the Customs House Museum in Clarksville, Tennessee. The painting not only won the Muenzenmayer Fund Award of Excellence in Acrylic, it was purchased by a collector. Her work was also recently juried into the University of Texas at Tyler’s 41st Annual International Exhibition and ended up being acquired for the university’s permanent collection. - SCAA
Where are you from, and what do you make?
I live in Little Compton, Rhode Island. I create detailed paintings from life using acrylic paint marker on wood panel. I also draw a lot of portraits using PanPastel on toned paper because I figure if I can get good at drawing faces, I will be able to draw anything.
How long have you been seriously pursuing art?
I’ve been making art my whole life but I’ve been pursuing it as a career since summer 2024, when I was laid off from my job in high tech.
What inspires you to create?
I paint on location to capture the essence of a place and reflect the spirit of its inhabitants. Two things inspire me: 1) really studying what I see in front of me – looking at it for hours and hours to understand the forms, shapes, and light, and 2) the people and animals who occupy the places I paint. I have gained an intense appreciation for people in my community who I may never have had a chance to talk with if I hadn’t painted the places where they live and work.
Which artist outside of your chosen medium has had the most impact on your art? What do they do, and in what way do they influence you?
I draw inspiration from the street artists of Providence, Rhode Island and Valencia, Spain, and also the work of Niki de Saint Phalle and Antoni Gaudí. They make big, bold, bright work that inspires me to the core. Niki was my husband’s aunt. I wish I could have met her.
Is there a work of art that has changed your life or how you view the world in some way?
When I was a freshman in college in Dallas, Texas, I went to a museum exhibition featuring Lucas Samaras’ work. His furniture and boxes with every square inch covered with bright beads and gems and yarn woke up my spirit and changed me forever.
As a member of SCAA, what do you like most about us?
The team who works at SCAA is welcoming, warm, and inclusive. And the quality of the work in your exhibitions is really high.
Tell us a joke.
I only know one joke. This one has to be said out loud.
Q: Why did the mushroom go to the party?
A: Because he was a fun guy.
Q: Why did he leave?
A: Because there wasn’t mush room.