“I sort of fell into the art world by way of my passion for interiors,” says artist Erin Donahue Tice, the self-taught creator behind Erin Donahue Tice Fine Art in Austin. “I have renovated and decorated three homes now, and art was always a central part of the process.” Fast-forward to today and Tice’s paintings are available not just via her website and by commission but also through shops and galleries across Austin. She draws inspiration from interior design, of course, but also from nature (specifically East Hampton, where she and her family have a vacation home) and old photos of style icons like Jackie Kennedy, Lee Radziwill, Sophia Loren and Grace Kelly. Working on both canvas and paper, the artist uses acrylics as her base, building on mixed-media layers. She tends to use bold splashes of color, layers of texture, various mediums and the definition—and absence of—shapes and spaces to transport the viewer to another place in time, even if that place is abstract. “I would like to continue making art that people connect to,” she says. “To me, that is the biggest honor and compliment: that someone connects with a piece enough to look at it every day and continues to find joy and solace in it.” erindonahuetice.com
