01/05/2026
MEET THE MAKER: ARTIST ERIKA VADO
For the first of our Meet the Maker series we went along to Erika Vado’s studio in Inverness to talk to her about the inspiration behind her semi-abstract paintings.
“I spend as much time as I can outside, in nature, on the beach. It’s obviously my interpretation and an abstract view but it’s all nature-inspired. All the colours, all the energy and emotions, the shifting light… I soak it all up and then release it on the canvas.”
Her recent solo exhibition ‘Elements of Being’ explored inner landscapes through abstract expressions of the four elements: Earth, Air, Fire and Water. “It focused on the transformations in life, the journey you go on. Painting is a language. Very often it’s a meditative experience when I paint. I don’t tend to depict exact places it’s more of an emotional journey. You are in the moment- when I am with the canvas I am just there.”
Erika, originally from Lithuania travelled to Scotland after completing her Masters in Cultural Heritage Protection for a short visit - then found that “life had a different plan!”
She has lived in the Highlands now for over 20 years. “In Scotland there is so much space - you don’t feel restricted. And it’s the same in art. To paint is to be free.”
