(Above: Work by Eugene artist Erin Davis is a featured exhibit at the Emerald Art Center in Springfield from Jan. 12 through Feb. 4, 2022. Her work also can be viewed and purchased online at fineartamerica.com, as seen in this screenshot detail from that website.)

By Randi Bjornstad

The Emerald Art Center opens three new exhibits on Jan. 12 that will be on display through Feb. 4, highlighted by a show of distinctive oil paintings and colored pencil drawings by art center member Erin Davis.

Davis’ work combines figurative and surreal elements presented in both landscape scenes and interior spaces, often characterized by deep colors that create a distinct mood — often with dark undertones — within the setting. In her artist statement, she admits to occasional “self-conscious melodrama at moments.”

That effect may reflect Davis’ educational background, which includes degrees in both English literature and psychology, as well as a stint studying painting at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Her work has been represented on fineartamerica.com since 2018, where it can be purchased in a variety of forms, such as prints, puzzles, stationery, totebags, mugs, t-shirts, even face masks, at https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/6-erin-davis.

For the past two decades, Davis has relied on self-teaching, using her skills to immerse herself in both painting and drawing in order to understand and control her experience with what she describes as “extreme obsessive compulsive disorder.” She considers every completed piece of artwork as a small victory in that ongoing quest.

As usual, the art center exhibits also include a display of new work by other member artists.

The PhotoZone Gallery show represents the work of its members in their creation of fine-art photography. The group has been meeting since 1988, and their photographs have been on display at many art venues. The photographs cover a range of mediums, including silver print, platinum/palladium, gum bichromate, and digital production. This show features a series called I am Journey, with work by member Sandy Brown Jensen.

Emerald Art Center Gift Shop and Gallery

When: Jan. 12 through Feb. 4, 2022

Where: 500 Main St., Springfield

Hours: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, plus 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. for the downtown Springfield Second Friday Art Walk on Jan. 14

Information: 541-726-8595 or emeraldartcenter.org

Photograph by Sandy Brown Jensen, from her I am Journey series; part of the PhotoZone group exhibit at the Emerald Art Center