“Forest Mosses Feast” by Erika Manning. Mixed media on paper, mounted on cradled panel, 20-by-20 inches. Courtesy of Thornton Oaks

Contemporary visual artist Erika Manning shows recent paintings at Thornton Oaks, 25 Thornton Way #100, Brunswick, from July 29 through Sept. 21.

Erika Manning. Courtesy of Thornton Oaks

Manning is a mixed media artist and educator rooted in the disparate values of abstract expressionism, the Blue Rider School and surrealism, as well as the concepts and practices of yoga. In her work, she explores the in-between places of landscape and consciousness, the still spaces where we can rest our attention, as well as the intertidal spaces where change happens. Her paintings are directly created through meditation and are inspired by the landscape of Midcoast Maine. While nonrepresentational, Mannings’s paintings loosely reference ocean, rock, seaweed, fog, stars and trees, as well as the places where water meets land and the built environment. She is interested in maritime charts and topographical maps, and much of her work gives the sense of being done from an aerial perspective. While she works toward a finished image, the beauty for her is in the process of creating, which she sees as a spiritual practice of self discovery.

“Cosmic Turtle” by Erika Manning. Mixed media on paper on cradled panel, 20-by-20 inches. Courtesy of Thornton Oaks

Manning has gallery representation in New England and has work in collections throughout the United States. She teaches courses on unleashing one’s creativity, traditional studio arts and healing through the visual arts. Manning was an artist-in-residence at the Art Loft in Rockland and  Mercersburg Academy in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. She also participated in “Fresh To Salt” in Port Clyde and the Yellow Chair Artist Salon residency based in New York City. In 1993, she received a BFA from The Art Institute of Boston with a focus on printmaking and sculpture.

There will be a public reception at the Merrymeeting Room at Thornton Oaks at 3 p.m. on Aug. 7 with an artist talk directly after the reception.

The gallery is open to the public from noon to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, visit erikamanningart.com.

“Solstice Yellow” by Erika Manning. Oil on canvas, 30-by-30 inches. Courtesy of Thornton Oaks