August Featured Artist - Ernie Steiner

Ernie Steiner showing off some of his smaller canvas works.

Ernie is a visual artist based in Los Angeles with a focus on fine art canvas and mural work.  He is also the founder of ERS Creative Services LLC which provides mural consulting, design, and creation services.

“Party Monster” by Ernie Steiner, 16 inch X 20 inch stretched canvas, Airbrush and Spray Paint

 What are five words to describe you/your work?

Colorful, vibrant, realistic, abstract--I think those four words cover it!

What is your creative process like? 

An airbrush and spray paint are the primary tools I use to create my work.  I like to start by just free hand airbrushing a general concept.  I will develop a more structured design as the work progresses, but I try not to hold myself to any formal plan when painting.  I like the ability to run with spontaneous ideas and maintain the freedom to experiment during the painting process.  

How do you stay inspired?

I stay inspired by simply paying attention to my life in the moment here in Los Angeles.  The mural work I see scattered throughout the city, the historic art found in world class museums, the scribbled tags on walls along Hollywood Boulevard, the numerous art openings at authentic spots such as ArtBar in Mar Vista, the unique retail shops, and just the atmosphere in the city.

What drives you to make art?

My drive usually starts from seeing something that sparks some type of strong emotion.  In some cases this can be as simple as walking past somebody spray painting a mural on the street.  Watching another artist’s process can instantly give me a new idea which I will want to immediately experiment with.  In addition, there has been more and more art podcasts coming out, and listening to stories from other artists about their creative process can also make me want to get into the studio!

What message do you want to send through your business or art?

Ideally, I would like the viewer to feel positive emotions when viewing my work.  Although each piece of work is based on a different motive with a different story, the general message I am trying to send is one of optimism and being happy.  Seeing a viewer smile when looking at my work is one of the biggest compliments.

What difficult experiences have you faced professionally/creatively?

It is always challenging to translate work into different scales while still keeping the same feeling and effects.  I often get requests to translate my large mural work into a small canvas and vice versa.  For example, a paint drip on a small canvas is much easier to create and show spontaneously.  But achieving that same paint drip effect on a thirty-foot-tall wall will often need to be approached quite differently.  Just as spray painting on a large scale wall is much easier to achieve refined effects without using masking, but this just can’t be done when spray painting a small canvas.

What has been your experience with Mar Vista Music & Art Walk? How do you feel connected to it?

I have always enjoyed the Mar Vista Art Walk!  Great and unique venders, authentic art, live shows and great food are just a few reasons I walk the blocks during each Art Walk (before COVID).  I have also been lucky enough to participate in different group shows with Cannibal Flower, most recently at ArtBar which is one of the spaces that participates in the Art Walk and I previously showed at Buck Wild Gallery during past Art Walks.

Do you have any upcoming projects, events or shows? (So we can let the people know!)

I [was recent] in a group show, which [was] up until July 18th, at ArtBar in Mar Vista, curated by Cannibal Flower.  There [were] a lot of great artists in the show!

I will be participating in a group show curated by Visual Culture Arts this Summer/Fall, more information will be coming soon!

I am releasing a clothing collaboration in September with the apparel company TeeVeeTee.

I hope to finalize a solo show in November but I don’t want to give too much more information as this event may fall victim to the varying social landscape from COVID.

Visual Culture Arts represents my original work through their online database and resources and I have some limited run prints in my web store.

I have also been doing private visits at my studio in Inglewood. 

 Website: www.erniesteiner.com

Instagram: @erniesteiner

“Brain Storming” by Ernie Steiner, 16 inch X 20 inch stretched canvas, Airbrush and Spray Paint