About the Artist   

After two decades of creating large oil paintings in the public, Erin Ferrell McGee decided to bring her painting "en plein air" to the world audience via social networking. To date, she has created 12 videos capturing painting on the streets of Philadelphia and South Jersey. Not only does she stand with a 4 x 5 foot hand stretched canvas in a tourist populated Philadelphia location, but she wears ball gowns while doing this.  Her painting process has evolved into performance art connecting Philadelphia tourists to the icons within the city. People around the world can watch her paint the city hall Occupy Philly movement or the Art Museum from the base of the steps. She loves combining her classically rendered oil paintings with new technology and large audiences available through the web.

Artist Statement 2012

My paintings are not created behind closed doors.  They are created on the streets of Philadelphia and in the fields of South Jersey. I invite you to watch me work as I stand my easel on the Ben Franklin Bridge, the Art Museum steps, and on the sidewalks of the Italian market.  For me, the process is as exciting as the product. Look for me in the crowded markets, the tourist destinations, and famous landmarks. While my adrenaline pumps, large colorful oils on canvas are created in these people rich places.

I take time lapse photos of my canvases while I paint. Then I create videos which are posted on social networks, linking the subject of my art to the place it was created and the way I depicted it. This brings my process as an artist to a world audience; virtually traveling to the Philadelphia area and experiencing what it is like to be with my painting on the streets.

Sharing my painting process with the public is a gift, not so much for the outcome but for the vulnerability of failure.  The composition on my canvas may not work. The balance of line, color, and design may be horribly rendered… but you bore witness to my endeavor. I created a moment of pause and wonder in the business of the mundane.

- Erin McGee Ferrell