First Day, Blues

Erin Lee Gafill

A fifth-generation California artist, Erin is the recipient of the Jennifer Hill Prize from the Carmel Plein Air Festival, and has been elected Best Local Artist three times by the Monterey County Weekly.

In 2001, she was honored as the first American artist-in-residence at the Hamada International Children’s Museum of Art in Hamada, Japan.
In 2008, she was named a Champion of the Arts by the Arts Council for Monterey. She is the founder of the nonprofit arts education organization The Big Sur Arts Initiative, creating award-winning programming serving the Big Sur Coast for over a decade and garnering recognition from the Turner Foundation, the Packard Foundation, First Night Monterey, and the Arts Council for Monterey County. She is a founding signature member of the Monterey Bay Plein Air Painters Association (MBPAPA), and an artist member of the Carmel Art Association. Erin is the author of two books, Drinking from a Cold Spring, A Little Book of Hope and Color Duets.