Paul Behnke photo blogs a visit to the studio of painter James Erikson.

Behnke writes: "Erikson makes quiet, yet insistent paintings – process oriented, oil on canvas, works that linger in the mind of the viewer, demanding interpretation. In the same way a passage of music can seem familiar, though it has never been heard, Erikson's paintings stir underlying thoughts and feelings that are more race memory than personal experience. The resulting works are august, influential forces that are hard to define but easy to know."