I struggled to write an introduction worthy of Erin so I turned to friend and fellow photographer Josh to lend me a helping hand. – Anna 

To be an artist, takes more than just creativity. It takes passion. Erin truly exemplifies this combination and adds in a heaping dose of love for the community. In getting to know her, I’ve seen more and more how much of herself is in her work. She brings thought provoking and surreal images that draw you in and challenge you to understand the message. Erin is a teacher by trade and a true artist through and through. – Josh St Germain,  fellow AMPTcommunity member and _uxter

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A: Do you have any influences within your work?

E: Many…too many which is probably why my style is so varied.In high school I was turned onto art when I discovered Expressionism and Surrealism. Later through university I was constantly exploring all forms of modern art including photo-based artist like Andy Warhol, Barbara Krugger and Sandy Skoglund.  Surrealists photo-manipulations by Man Ray or Jerry Uelsmann have always fascinated me as well. Most recently I have discovered the environmental and photo-based artwork by artists Andy Goldsworthy and Chris Jordon. Both of these two artists marry the message with the media perfectly, engaging themselves in the environment then photographing the results of that engagement. To make art that is both beautiful and really thought provoking is my lifelong goal… and I still have to achieve it.

There have been many “real” people recently who have influenced a new found passion for creating through my interactions with them on places like IG and AMPt community. Some of these mobile photographers impress me with their skills and techniques, while others inspire me with their expressionism and creativity, but the list is long and varied.

A:How long have you been creating? 

E: Creating? Since I first drew or colored as a child I guess. From a very young age I enjoyed arts and crafts of all sorts and I think like most children I was always keen to “create” something. By high school I knew I had to pursue something that allowed me to be creative, so I studied Painting and Drawing in university, and then went on to get a degree in education .  Now I teach high school art….which I absolutely love, but there’s always been some creating going on in the background, when time permits. Painting was my main medium for years and for I while I enjoyed some success exhibiting and selling.

I started using my phone to create in November of 2011. I stumbled upon Instagram downloaded some apps and away I went. It has become my main form of creative expression for the past few years. I enjoy it as a hobby and an outlet for creativity but would like to see it develop into something more. Although I’m not sure what my come of it I am working on something! Top secret though…wink wink!

A:Do you have a favorite subject matter?

E: Nature comes to mind first and most of my images revolve around nature but often I edit my pics…sometimes to extreme. Its not enough for me (usually) to just be a pretty landscape. I’d rather create something with a meaning or message, even a story to it. I like to add text at times, or layer several filters to create a painterly effect. Always I want my images to feel clean and crisp though, and they are dominated by my favorite color blue. I also really like surrealistic images, so juxtaposing seemingly unrelated objects/things is a favorite technique of mine.

A: I recently read an article that said filters killing photography. Do you agree?  

E: Absolutely not! That’s like saying did the paint brush kill the pencil? Cameras, mobile cameras, apps, filters etc, these are just the tools used to create something. It cannot replace the need for high quality, professional (mostly) unedited photos that are needed for large format print. However images shot with a mobile camera and edited with various apps and filters is a relatively new art form. I think that we all want to quickly define it and place it into its category to be studied in the future, but its still too young. Funny enough most of the artworks mobile photographers create are strongly influenced by some art movement from the past. It is too fresh to define and fully understand but something is there and its exciting to see it evolve. Recently I discussing this topic with some friends and came up with this; photographers tend to be technical and editors tend to be expressive, for me as a mobile photographer/editor its about finding the balance between them both.

A: What is it that makes this community of photographers so special?

E: I think what makes the mobile photography community special is that the very tool we use to create is also a tool for communication. So we are a very well connected group and because of that we are sharing ideas and developing trends fairly quickly. What also makes the mobile community great is that people come from all different backgrounds…it’s not just a group of exclusive artists, so the artsy fartsy attitude isn’t there (most of the time)

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Buy Erin’s work:  Instacanvas and Ink361

Thank you so much for your time Erin I truely enjoyed getting to know you and your work better <3

About Author

Anna Cox

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