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Not many local artists can say they produce 50,000 copies of a painting for distribution each month.
Unless you happen to be Erin Griffin.
Since 2001, Griffin’s watercolor art has been featured on the cover of the Coupon Clipper, a monthly hodgepodge of discount specials and retail markdowns sent through the mail to residents of the greater Spokane Valley. The mailer is printed by Griffin Publishing, a company owned by Erin and her husband.
“We didn’t want it to get lost with all the other junk mail,” said Erin of the idea to utilize paintings on the cover.
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| Spokane Valley resident Erin Griffin has been painting watercolor depictions of Inland Northwest scenes since 2001. Griffin’s paintings currently adorn the walls of The Local Marketplace on Argonne Road as well as the lobby of the CenterPlace Regional Events Center. - Photo by Craig Howard |
Mass marketing concepts aside, Griffin’s art conveys a talent that is anything but cut-rate. Her work has been featured in a variety of area venues and is currently on display at The Local Marketplace on Argonne Road as well as the CenterPlace Regional Events Center. Her paintings are also on a Web site – www.erinswatercolors.com.
Griffin, who lives in Spokane Valley with her husband and two kids, relies on the diverse terrain of the Inland Northwest as the subject matter for most of her work. From a roaming cow on a Springdale farm to a gathering of autumn pumpkins in Green Bluff, Griffin says the topography of Eastern Washington provides plenty of subject matter for her work.
“All the trees and hills, lakes and rivers are just amazing here,” she said.
Griffin emerged as a gifted artist at Colville High School, but never developed as a watercolor painter until years later when she began to take classes from local artists like Anne Sherrod and Stan Miller.
Sherrod, an accomplished Spokane Valley painter who taught watercolor classes for years at Spokane Art Supply, said Griffin is a blend of skill and devotion.
“I would say that Erin is in a group of established local artists,” Sherrod said. “Her work is incredible. For some artists, it’s difficult to make that transition to watercolor – for others, it isn’t. Erin was a good painter already when she arrived in my class. She has a lot of talent and dedication to her art.”
“It takes a while to learn the properties and how the water reacts to the paint,” Griffin said. “There’s quite a learning curve with watercolor.”
The education involved more than a few stumbles along the way, Griffin recalled.
“Some of my paintings in the beginning were awful,” she said. “I would get pretty frustrated with my progress, but I didn’t give up. After awhile, you achieve a certain level of success because you put in the work.”
These days, Griffin teaches classes in watercolor art and, like Miller, brings in several of her early paintings to help students realize that quality is a byproduct of patience and effort.
“I know about the struggles,” she said.
Miller, whose work has received awards through the American Watercolor Society and other prestigious organizations, said Griffin’s work ethic has paid off.
“She’s an accomplished artist,” he said. “It just shows what can happen when you have commitment and determination.”
While most of Griffin’s subject matter is drawn from local landscapes – one of her favorite paintings features a rustic farm she found on a drive through Ritzville – she said other areas, such as the Oregon coast, may eventually find their way into her work.
“I’m always looking for a great painting,” she said.
Griffin’s watercolor classes are held in Spokane Valley once a week and usually run about two hours.
“When I teach, I’m learning things in my classes that help me with my painting,” she said. “Every time you paint, you get better.”
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By
Craig Howard
