Mark Erickson Studio, Oakland, CA (2025)

10/26/2024

Today we lost a brother. Our hearts and love go out to Jill Lesh, Brian and Grahame. Phil Lesh was irreplaceable. In one note from the Phil Zone, you could hear and feel the world being born. His bass flowed like a river would flow. It went where the muse took it. He was an explorer of inner and outer space who just happened to play bass. He was a circumnavigator of formerly unknown musical worlds. And more.

We can count on the fingers of one hand the people we can say had as profound an influence on our development - in every sense. And there have been even less people who did so continuously over the decades and will continue to for as long as we live. What a gift he was for us. We won’t say he will be missed, as in any given moment, nothing we do will be without the lessons he taught us - and the lessons that are yet to come, as the conversations will go on.

Phil loved the Dead Heads and always kept them in his heart and mind. The thing is… Phil was so much more than a virtuoso bass player, a composer, a family man, a cultural icon...

There will be a lot of tributes, and they will all say important things. But for us, we’ve spent a lifetime making music with Phil Lesh and the music has a way of saying it all. So listen to the Grateful Dead and, in that way, we’ll all take a little bit of Phil with us, forever.

For this is all a dream we dreamed one afternoon, long ago…

Mickey, Billy and Bobby

10/18/2024

My Grandmother, Blanche Rose (Nathan-Bach) Hesslein, had her studio in Brooklyn, New York City, from the 1920s through the 1950s. She exhibited in various galleries of the time, and twice a year, my mother, Bernice Lane (Hesslein Nathan) Erickson, began showcasing her paintings at the age of 15, alongside my grandmother at the Washington Square Park Painting Exhibitions in Greenwich Village starting in 1940. Fortunately, this painting was kept by my mother, as most of my grandmother's work sold during that time. I have been lucky to find a few pieces at galleries and have acquired them.

Magnolia 1941
all oil on canvas
52" x 66" (132cm x 168cm)

Continuing the restoration project of Blanche's paintings has been incredibly rewarding. Spending hours up close to her magnificent works is a unique experience, and as I work, I often find myself talking to her, resulting in a mystical conversation. One of my favorites from Blanche's 'Flower' series is 'Magnolia,' which stands out beautifully.

Blanche graduated from Hunter College in the early 20th century and then studied at The Art Students League in New York City. She took a summer trip to Europe, traveling by train and visiting Germany, where she attended a summer session at the Hans Hofmann School in Munich.

When Hofmann opened his schools in New York City and Provincetown, Massachusetts, in the mid-1930s, she continued studying under him, first at the Hans Hofmann School of Fine Art at 37 East 57th Street, then at 52 West 9th Street, and finally at 52 West 8th Street, all in New York City. In her late teens, my mother, Bernice Lane (Hesslein Nathan) Erickson, began her art studies at the Hofmann School and modeled for his drawing and painting classes. They both participated in his summer sessions in Provincetown.

The first group of canvases I will post here, like my previous post, dates from the early 1930s through the 1940s, reflecting her interests in Impressionism, Cubism, and Still Lifes with an Asian influence. She admired the works of Cezanne, Degas, Monet, and Renoir, and was particularly impressed with Picasso when she first encountered his art while living in Europe. Blanche continued painting until the late 1960s, when she shifted her focus from oil painting to pastels on paper.

Over the years, Blanche's paintings have adorned many family homes, from Hollywood to Encino and back to Hollywood, as well as in Sunset Beach, California, and later in Munich, Germany, before returning to Hollywood. They eventually made their way to Torino, Italy, for a few years, and finally to Venice Beach. The journey of these works reflects my mother Bernice Lane's love for displaying them wherever she lived.

Anyone who visited our homes would often find themselves standing in front of these paintings, as my mom would enthusiastically guide them through her favorites. Questions were common, and my mom had answers at the ready, having lived with them and with countless other works she and my grandmother painted in New York City and along the Eastern Seaboard. Both shared a love for the ocean, and my mother knew the stories behind each painting, enjoying every opportunity to share them.

I had long planned to restore Blanche's paintings and their elaborate, gorgeous frames. Most were created on the East Coast—in Brooklyn, Greenwich Village, Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire—while some of the later canvases were painted in her last studio in Hollywood and at the family home in Sunset Beach, California. They are treasures, traces of my family's artistic roots that have inspired me to dream of becoming a painter myself. Throughout my own artistic journey, I have often looked back at her paintings on the wall, still in awe as the works aged alongside me, knowing she was the master.

Blanche was specific about her painting career; she did what she wanted and avoided the commercial aspects of the art world. While she exhibited in galleries, she shied away from the pressures of building a conventional painting career. She cherished her privacy and embraced a life of experimentation and change, which the art world often frowned upon. For her, consistency was a trap, and she forged her own path.

I grew up with these paintings watching over me from the various rooms where my mother, Bernice Lane, placed them. Some were at my grandmother's studio in Hollywood, and they all came to my parents' house in Hollywood after she passed. I inherited the remaining pieces, as my grandmother sold hundreds of paintings throughout her fifty-year career. I consider myself fortunate to have 20 of her works spanning various years. Blanche was a true New Yorker, born and raised, and she loved city life, which infused her creative spirit into the countless endeavors she pursued. She designed jewelry and storefront displays for Lord & Taylor, Bonwit Teller & Co., Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale's, and Macy's in Manhattan.

Blanche cherished spending time in various Atlantic coastal towns, like Cape Cod and Provincetown, to paint during the spring and late summer. I fondly recall watching her draw as a child, always fascinated by her speed; with just a few simple strokes of a pencil, something magical would emerge. I called her Nanny, as she preferred that to Grandma. Such memories made her a truly special grandmother.

10/12/2024

My Grandmother Blanche Rose (Nathan-Bach) Hesslein's studio in the 1920s through 1950s was in Brooklyn, New York City. She exhibited in various galleries of the time and twice a year she and my mother, Bernice Lane (Hesslein Nathan) Erickson, at 15 years old began to show her paintings in 1940 alongside my Grandmother at the Washington Square Park Painting Exhibitions in Greenwich Village. The three paintings here fortunately were kept by my mother, as most of my Grandmother's work sold in the day. I have been lucky to find a few offered at galleries and have acquired them.

Still Night Life (Series) 1937-1941
L2R:
Still Life - Buddha, Turquoise Plate & Small Vase 1937
Still Life - Buddha, Turquoise Plate & Vase w/Chinese Lantern Flowers 1939
Horse, Turquoise Plate & Vase with Chinese Lantern Flowers 1940

all oil on canvas
each are 38" x 29" (97cm x 74cm)

Continuing the restoration project of Blanche's paintings has been great fun in the studio. Hours spent up close to her magnificent paintings are like no other, especially as I work I tend to talk to her and the conversation is always mystical.

Blanche's 'Still Night Life' series was my favorite. The three above are stand-out paintings from the series.

The darkness of the background was and is always intriguing. I asked her about the mood of these paintings when I first studied painting in Italy in High School and she mentioned, "It's a stage play, a one-act play of the eye, the objects are the focus, the background tells the story."

Restoring my Grandmother Blanche's paintings has turned out to be rewarding, from an artistic perspective and a spiritual family connection. Delving in close to the actual grain of the cloth, like a museum curator, has taught me a lot about the act of painting, what to put in, and what to leave out.

Blanche graduated from Hunter's College in the early 20th Century and then studied at The Art Students League in New York City. A summer traveling by train in Europe and visiting Germany, she attended a Summer session at the Hans Hoffman School in Munich.

When Hoffman opened in the mid-1930s his schools in New York City and Provincetown, Massachusetts continued studying under Hoffman. First at his Hans Hoffman School of Fine Art at 37 East 57th Street, then at 52 West 9th Street, and his final location at 52 West 8th Street, all in New York City. In her late teens, my mother Bernice Lane (Hesselin Nathan) Erickson began her art studies at the Hoffman School and modeled for his various Drawing and Painting classes. They both also took part in his Summer sessions in Provincetown.

This first group of canvases I will post here, like the previous first post, is from the early 1930s through the 1940s when her interests were Impressionism, Cubism, and Still Lifes with an Asian influence. She loved the work of Cezanne, Degas, Monet, and Renoir and was impressed with Picasso when she first noticed his work while living in Europe. Blanche's painting years were completed in the late 1960s when she quit oil painting and concentrated on pastels on paper.

Blanche's paintings have hung on the walls of many of my family homes over the years, from Hollywood to Encino and back to Hollywood, some at the house in Sunset Beach, California, and then onto Munich, Germany for a few years and back to Hollywood, then onto Torino, Italy for a few years and once again back to the Hollywood Hills and finally to Venice Beach. Their journey's importance proved that my mother Bernice Lane loved to have these works up wherever she may live.

Over the years whoever entered our homes would end up standing in front of these paintings as my mom would tour them around, pointing out her favorites. Questions were asked and the answers were easy as my mom had lived with them and countless others that she and my Grandmother painted in New York City and on the Eastern seaboard of the Atlantic. Both of them loved the ocean. My mom knew all the stories and where every painting was conceived and loved to tell anyone who wanted to listen.

I had planned for years to restore Blanche's paintings and the elaborate, gorgeous frames. Most were painted on the East Coast, Brooklyn, Greenwich Village, Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire. Some of the later canvases were painted in her last studio in Hollywood and at the Family home in Sunset Beach, California. They are jewels, traces of my family's natural roots in painting. They tempted me to dream of being a painter, and in all the years that I have succeeded in that crazy arena, I always looked back at her paintings on the wall, I still stare in awe as the paintings aged, as I aged and I knew she was the master.

Blanche was specific in her painting career, did what she wanted to do, and avoided the commercial world of art. She exhibited in galleries, but she shied away from the rest of what goes into the makings of a painting career. She enjoyed her privacy and leading a life of experimentation and change, that the art world frowned on. Consistency was a trap to her and so she went her own way.
I grew up with these paintings staring down at me from the various rooms my mother Bernice Lane had placed them in. Some were at my Grandmother's studio in Hollywood, and they all arrived at my folk's house in Hollywood after she passed. I inherited all of the remaining paintings, as my Grandmother sold hundreds of paintings over a fifty-year career.

I am quite fortunate to have a lucky dozen of her works of various years and Blanche was a true blue New Yorker, born there and loved the City life and in that crept her creative spirit in the countless endeavors she enjoyed. She designed jewelry and storefront displays for Lord & Taylor, Bonwit Teller & Co. Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdales, and Macy's in Manhattan.

Blanche loved to spend time in the various Atlantic coastal towns (Cape Cod, Provincetown) to paint during the Springtime and late Summer. I recall watching her draw as a kid, always fascinated by how fast she was, and sometimes a few simple strokes of a pencil and something magical would begin to appear. I called her Nanny, as she was not fond of Grandma. Funny recollections like that made her a special Grandmother.

10/08/2024

Bernice Lane (Hesslein Nathan) & Ernest Anders Erickson

Japanese Garden Table Top 1960
Tile Sculpture
Sunset Beach, California
36" x 48" (91cm x 122cm)
Mark Erickson©2024

My folks made this for the garden. It lasted years and then the table started falling apart and they removed the top.
I recently restored the piece, re-tiling certain areas with all the original tiles that had sunk into the wood. Came out nice. Now it will be a wall sculpture.

10/06/2024

Blanche Rose (Nathan-Bach) Hesslein

The Forest That Never Forgets 1944
oil on canvas
36" x 48" (91cm x 122cm)
Mark Julius Erickson©2024

This text on my Grandmother Blanche Rose from previous posts.

Continuing the restoration project of Blanche's paintings has been great fun in the studio. Hours spent up close to her magnificent paintings are like no other, especially as I work I tend to talk to her and the conversation is always mystical.
Blanche's 'Night Life' series was another of my favorites. 'The Forest That Never Forgets 1944,' is a painting that was forever hanging over the fireplace in our home as I was growing up.

The darkness of the background of Blanche's canvases was and still is very intriguing. I asked her about the particular mood of many of her paintings when I first studied painting in Italy in High School. She mentioned, "I feel the atmosphere is a stage play, a one-act play of the eye, the foreground objects are the focus, the background begins to tell the story. Staring at the work, you will fall into it like an observer would in any dramatic stage play on Broadway."

Restoring my Grandmother Blanche's paintings has turned out to be rewarding, from an artistic perspective and a spiritual family connection. Delving in close to the actual grain of the cloth, like a museum curator, has taught me a lot about the act of painting, what to put in, and what to leave out.

Blanche graduated from Hunter's College in the early 20th Century and then studied at The Art Students League in New York City. A summer traveling by train in Europe and visiting Germany, she attended a Summer session at the Hans Hoffman School in Munich.

When Hoffman opened in the mid-1930s his schools in New York City and Provincetown, Massachusetts continued studying under Hoffman. First at his Hans Hoffman School of Fine Art at 37 East 57th Street, then at 52 West 9th Street, and his final location at 52 West 8th Street, all in New York City. In her late teens, my mother Bernice Lane (Hesselin Nathan) Erickson began her art studies at the Hoffman School and modeled for his various Drawing and Painting classes. They both also took part in his Summer sessions in Provincetown.

This first group of canvases I will post here, like the previous first post, is from the early 1930s through the 1940s when her interests were Impressionism, Cubism, and Still Lifes with an Asian influence. She loved the work of Cezanne, Degas, Monet, and Renoir and was impressed with Picasso when she first noticed his work while living in Europe. Blanche's painting years were completed in the late 1960s when she quit oil painting and concentrated on pastels on paper.

Blanche's paintings have hung on the walls of many of my family homes over the years, from Hollywood to Encino and back to Hollywood, some at the house in Sunset Beach, California, and then onto Munich, Germany for a few years and back to Hollywood, then onto Torino, Italy for a few years and once again back to the Hollywood Hills and finally to Venice Beach. Their journey's importance proved that my mother Bernice Lane loved to have these works up wherever she may live.

Over the years whoever entered our homes would end up standing in front of these paintings as my mom would tour them around, pointing out her favorites. Questions were asked and the answers were easy as my mom had lived with them and countless others that she and my Grandmother painted in New York City and on the Eastern seaboard of the Atlantic. Both of them loved the ocean. My mom knew all the stories and where every painting was conceived and loved to tell anyone who wanted to listen.

I had planned for years to restore Blanche's paintings and the elaborate, gorgeous frames. Most were painted on the East Coast, Brooklyn, Greenwich Village, Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire. Some of the later canvases were painted in her last studio in Hollywood and at the Family home in Sunset Beach, California. They are jewels, traces of my family's natural roots in painting. They tempted me to dream of being a painter, and in all the years that I have succeeded in that crazy arena, I always looked back at her paintings on the wall, I still stare in awe as the paintings aged, as I aged and I knew she was the master.

Blanche was specific in her painting career, did what she wanted to do, and avoided the commercial world of art. She exhibited in galleries but shied away from the rest of what goes into the makings of a painting career. She enjoyed her privacy and leading a life of experimentation and change, that the art world frowned on. Consistency was a trap to her and so she went her own way.

I grew up with these paintings staring down at me from the various rooms my mother Bernice Lane had placed them in. Some were at my Grandmother's studio in Hollywood, and they all arrived at my folk's house in Hollywood after she passed. I inherited all of the remaining paintings, as my Grandmother sold hundreds of paintings over a fifty-year career.

I am quite fortunate to have a lucky dozen of her works of various years and Blanche was a true blue New Yorker, born there and loved the City life and in that crept her creative spirit in the countless endeavors she enjoyed. She designed jewelry and storefront displays for Lord & Taylor, Bonwit Teller & Co. Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdales, and Macy's in Manhattan.

Blanche loved to spend time in the various Atlantic coastal towns (Cape Cod, Provincetown) to paint during the Springtime and late Summer. I recall watching her draw as a kid, always fascinated by how fast she was, and sometimes a few simple strokes of a pencil and something magical would begin to appear. I called her Nanny, as she was not fond of Grandma. Funny recollections like that made her a special Grandmother.

10/04/2024

My Grandmother Blanche Rose (Nathan-Bach) Hesslein's studio was in Brooklyn, New York City and she loved to paint flowers she saw around the city.

Vase of Flowers on Table 1943
oil on canvas
28" x 22" (71cm x 56cm)
Mark Julius Erickson©2024

Continuing the restoration project of Blanche's paintings has been great fun in the studio. Hours spent up close to her magnificent paintings are like no other, especially as I work I tend to talk to her and the conversation is always mystical.
Blanche's 'Night Still Life' series was my favorite. 'Vase of Flowers on Table 1943,' is one of many stand-out paintings.

The darkness of the background was and is always intriguing. I asked her about the mood of these paintings when I first studied painting in Italy in High School and she mentioned, "It's a stage play, a one-act play of the eye, the objects are the focus, the background tells the story."

Restoring my Grandmother Blanche's paintings has turned out to be rewarding, from an artistic perspective and a spiritual family connection. Delving in close to the actual grain of the cloth, like a museum curator, has taught me a lot about the act of painting, what to put in, and what to leave out.

Blanche graduated from Hunter's College in the early 20th Century and then studied at The Art Students League in New York City. A summer traveling by train in Europe and visiting Germany, she attended a Summer session at the Hans Hoffman School in Munich.

When Hoffman opened in the mid-1930s his schools in New York City and Provincetown, Massachusetts continued studying under Hoffman. First at his Hans Hoffman School of Fine Art at 37 East 57th Street, then at 52 West 9th Street, and his final location at 52 West 8th Street, all in New York City. In her late teens, my mother Bernice Lane (Hesselin Nathan) Erickson began her art studies at the Hoffman School and modeled for his various Drawing and Painting classes. They both also took part in his Summer sessions in Provincetown.

This first group of canvases I will post here, like the previous first post, is from the early 1930s through the 1940s when her interests were Impressionism, Cubism, and Still Lifes with an Asian influence. She loved the work of Cezanne, Degas, Monet, and Renoir and was impressed with Picasso when she first noticed his work while living in Europe. Blanche's painting years were completed in the late 1960s when she quit oil painting and concentrated on pastels on paper.

Blanche's paintings have hung on the walls of many of my family homes over the years, from Hollywood to Encino and back to Hollywood, some at the house in Sunset Beach, California, and then onto Munich, Germany for a few years and back to Hollywood, then onto Torino, Italy for a few years and once again back to the Hollywood Hills and finally to Venice Beach. Their journey's importance proved that my mother Bernice Lane loved to have these works up wherever she may live.

Over the years whoever entered our homes would end up standing in front of these paintings as my mom would tour them around, pointing out her favorites. Questions were asked and the answers were easy as my mom had lived with them and countless others that she and my Grandmother painted in New York City and on the Eastern seaboard of the Atlantic. Both of them loved the ocean. My mom knew all the stories and where every painting was conceived and loved to tell anyone who wanted to listen.

I had planned for years to restore Blanche's paintings and the elaborate, gorgeous frames. Most were painted on the East Coast, Brooklyn, Greenwich Village, Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire. Some of the later canvases were painted in her last studio in Hollywood and at the Family home in Sunset Beach, California. They are jewels, traces of my family's natural roots in painting. They tempted me to dream of being a painter, and in all the years that I have succeeded in that crazy arena, I always looked back at her paintings on the wall, I still stare in awe as the paintings aged, as I aged and I knew she was the master.

Blanche was specific in her painting career, did what she wanted to do, and avoided the commercial world of art. She exhibited in galleries, but she shied away from the rest of what goes into the makings of a painting career. She enjoyed her privacy and leading a life of experimentation and change, that the art world frowned on. Consistency was a trap to her and so she went her own way.

I grew up with these paintings staring down at me from the various rooms my mother Bernice Lane had placed them in. Some were at my Grandmother's studio in Hollywood, and they all arrived at my folk's house in Hollywood after she passed. I inherited all of the remaining paintings, as my Grandmother sold hundreds of paintings over a fifty-year career.
I am quite fortunate to have a lucky dozen of her works of various years and Blanche was a true blue New Yorker, born there and loved the City life and in that crept her creative spirit in the countless endeavors she enjoyed. She designed jewelry and storefront displays for Lord & Taylor, Bonwit Teller & Co. Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdales, and Macy's in Manhattan.
Blanche loved to spend time in the various Atlantic coastal towns (Cape Cod, Provincetown) to paint during the Springtime and late Summer. I recall watching her draw as a kid, always fascinated by how fast she was, and sometimes a few simple strokes of a pencil and something magical would begin to appear. I called her Nanny, as she was not fond of Grandma. Funny recollections like that made her a special Grandmother.

09/28/2024

My Grandmother Blanche Rose (Nathan-Bach) Hesslein's studio was in Brooklyn, New York City and she loved to paint flowers she saw around the city.

Vase of Flowers on Chair 1942
oil on canvas-40x24
oil on canvas
40" x 29" (102cm x 74cm)
Mark Julius Erickson©2024

Continuing with the restoration project of Blanche's paintings has been great fun in the studio. Hours spent up close to her magnificent paintings are like no other, especially as I work I tend to talk to her and the conversation is always thought-provoking.
Blanche's 'Night Still Lifes' series was my favorite. 'Drunkard's Night Dream,' is a unique Cubist-tinged stand-out canvas. She painted others similar, variations of the split screen angle, skewed views of bottles, glasses, vases, and windows, but this is the only canvas I have ever seen in person, and feel quite fortunate to have it here in the studio.

Alcohol was not much of a thrill to Blanche, and she could make one drink last an evening when the conversation got going. She had seen plenty of times when alcohol was a hot button in many of her painter friend's lives. She knew many and respected them all for their fighting spirit and tenacity. She'd say when someone asked about 'Drunkard's Night Dream,' Spend a night in the 1940s at the Cedar Tavern on 55 West Eighth Street and later at 24 University Place, and you will know what I mean.

Witnessing personalities go from light to medium to dark, and over a half dozen Scotches will do the trick, which occurred almost nightly. Where they got the money was a mystery, yet it was an important part of who they were. Some paid a hard price."

The darkness speaks to me and finding the light was a game I played. I asked her about the mood of these paintings when I first studied painting in Italy in High School and she mentioned, "It's a stage play, a one-act play of the eye, the objects are the focus, the background tells the story. The split screen effect conjures simply the feeling of being inebriated." Another long-time favorite of my Grandmother Blanche's paintings.

My painting restoration project I began a couple of weeks ago has turned out to be quite enjoyable and seriously rewarding, from an artistic perspective and a critical family attitude. Delving in close, like a museum curator at my Grandmother Blanche Rose (Nathan-Bach) Hesslein's oil paintings have been a revelation.
Blanche graduated from Hunter's College in the early years of the 20th Century and then studied at The Art Students League in New York City. A summer traveling by train in Europe and visiting Germany, she attended a Summer session at the Hans Hoffman School in Munich.

When Hoffman opened in the mid-1930s his schools in New York City and Provincetown, Massachusetts continued studying under Hoffman. First at his Hans Hoffman School of Fine Art at 37 East 57th Street, then at 52 West 9th Street, and his final location at 52 West 8th Street, all in New York City. In her late teens, my mother Bernice Lane (Hesselin Nathan) Erickson began her art studies at the Hoffman School and modeled for his various Drawing and Painting classes. They both also took part in his Summer sessions in Provincetown.

This first group of canvases I will post here, like the previous first post, is from the early 1930s through the 1940s when her interests were Impressionism, Cubism, and Still Lifes with an Asian influence. She loved the work of Cezanne, Degas, Monet, and Renoir and was impressed with Picasso when she first noticed his work while living in Europe. Blanche's painting years were completed in the late 1960s when she quit oil painting and concentrated on pastels on paper.

Blanche's paintings have hung on the walls of many of my family homes over the years, from Hollywood to Encino and back to Hollywood, some at the house in Sunset Beach, California, and then onto Munich, Germany for a few years and back to Hollywood, then onto Torino, Italy for a few years and once again back to the Hollywood Hills and finally to Venice Beach. Their journey's importance proved that my mother Bernice Lane loved to have these works up wherever she may live.

Over the years whoever entered our homes would end up standing in front of these paintings as my mom would tour them around, pointing out her favorites. Questions were asked and the answers were easy as my mom had lived with them and countless others that she and my Grandmother painted in New York City and on the Eastern seaboard of the Atlantic. Both of them loved the ocean. My mom knew all the stories and where every painting was conceived and loved to tell anyone who wanted to listen.

I had planned for years to restore Blanche's paintings and the elaborate, gorgeous frames. Most were painted on the East Coast, Brooklyn, Greenwich Village, Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire. Some of the later canvases were painted in her last studio in Hollywood and at the Family home in Sunset Beach, California. They are jewels, traces of my family's natural roots in painting. They tempted me to dream of being a painter, and in all the years that I have succeeded in that crazy arena, I always looked back at her paintings on the wall, I still stare in awe as the paintings aged, as I aged and I knew she was the master. Blanche was so clever in her painting career that she did what she wanted to do and avoided the commercial world of art. She exhibited in galleries, but she shied away from the rest of what goes into the makings of a painting career. She enjoyed her privacy and leading a life of experimentation and change, that the art world frowned on. Consistency was a trap to her and so she went her own way.

I grew up with these paintings staring down at me from the various rooms my mother Bernice Lane had placed them in. Some were at my Grandmother's studio in Hollywood, and they all arrived at my folk's house in Hollywood after she passed. I inherited all of the remaining paintings, as my Grandmother sold hundreds of paintings over a fifty-year career.
I am quite fortunate to have a lucky dozen of her works of various years and Blanche was a true blue New Yorker, born there and loved the City life and in that crept her creative spirit in the countless endeavors she enjoyed. She designed jewelry and storefront displays for Lord & Taylor, Bonwit Teller & Co. Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdales, and Macy's in Manhattan.

Blanche loved to spend time in the various Atlantic coastal towns (Cape Cod, Provincetown) to paint during the Springtime and late Summer. I recall watching her draw as a kid, always fascinated by how fast she was, and sometimes a few simple strokes of a pencil and something magical would begin to appear. I called her Nanny, as she was not fond of Grandma. Funny recollections like that made her a special Grandmother.

Mark Erickson Studio

10/26/2024

10/18/2024

10/12/2024

10/08/2024

10/06/2024

10/04/2024

09/28/2024

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