Spudz & Bugz - Opening Reception for Judith Brandon and Erin Mulligan
Advertisement
"Spudz and Bugz" is the title of a picture book written by Judith Brandon, illustrated by Erin Mulligan. Original illustrations and copies of the book will be on display and available. Have your book signed at this opening reception!
Both NE Ohio award-winning painters will also be exhibiting works from their personal studio practices.
Exhibit will be on display through January 8, 2027.
Live music and refreshments provided.
About the artists:
Erin T. Mulligan is an oil painter and instructor based out of Canton, Ohio. She specializes in highly detailed narrative paintings. Erin can not remember a time where she didn't love drawing. Growing up with local artist, Michelle Mulligan, her mother, and two grandmothers who were both accomplished painters, Erin received guidance and encouragement in all her artistic endeavors from a very young age. In 2003-2004 Erin studied the glazing methods of the Flemish masters with Frank Dale.
This is the style of painting Erin still uses today, but has modified the process quite a bit in recent years. She is driven by a desire to explore the boundaries. Always pushing to find better ways to articulate her vision of the culture she wishes to inspire. Erin's paintings are highly detailed visual moments in time where the real world we see everyday translates into complexly imaginative metaphors that deep down are in fact reality from her perspective.
Judith Brandon is a visionary artist whose paintings and drawings explore the intersection of intuition, weather, and the instinctive wisdom of the natural world. Through a masterful command of materials, she creates work that dissolves the boundaries between the visible and the invisible, inviting viewers to reconnect with the primal intelligence shared by humans and wildlife.
Brandon is the recipient of the International Spiritual Art Award and two Ohio Arts Council grants. Her work has received national recognition, including honors at the International Weather Biennale, for her evocative exploration of the elemental forces that shape both nature and human experience. Museums have included her work in multiple exhibitions, and people across the country collect her work in both corporate and personal collections.
Brandon holds two invention patents and is the co-creator, with artist Erin Mulligan, of the children’s book "Spudz and Bugz". Her commitment to conservation culminated in the largest solo exhibition ever presented at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, an exhibition dedicated to raising awareness of rhinoceros conservation and humanity’s responsibility to protect endangered species.
Brandon’s artistic vision was shaped in childhood, growing up in a home at the foot of a hill that flooded each spring. She could sense the approaching storms, and discovered drawing them was her first and most enduring form of communication. Today, she translates the frequencies of contemporary life through the rhythms of weather and the heightened awareness of wild animals, creating work that asks: what we have forgotten— and what does nature still remember?
Central to Brandon’s practice is the belief in personal sovereignty and our lasting connection to the living world. As she says, “At some point you decide, I am the authority of my life.” Through her art, she celebrates the autonomy, resilience, and extraordinary perception of wild creatures, reminding us that beneath modern life lies an ancient relationship with the Earth that continues to shape who we are.
"I do find it kind of remarkable that we both work in layers. Erin from drawing to painting and me from painting to drawing." - Judith Brandon
More about this collaboration will be posted in the discussion.
Both NE Ohio award-winning painters will also be exhibiting works from their personal studio practices.
Exhibit will be on display through January 8, 2027.
Live music and refreshments provided.
About the artists:
Erin T. Mulligan is an oil painter and instructor based out of Canton, Ohio. She specializes in highly detailed narrative paintings. Erin can not remember a time where she didn't love drawing. Growing up with local artist, Michelle Mulligan, her mother, and two grandmothers who were both accomplished painters, Erin received guidance and encouragement in all her artistic endeavors from a very young age. In 2003-2004 Erin studied the glazing methods of the Flemish masters with Frank Dale.
This is the style of painting Erin still uses today, but has modified the process quite a bit in recent years. She is driven by a desire to explore the boundaries. Always pushing to find better ways to articulate her vision of the culture she wishes to inspire. Erin's paintings are highly detailed visual moments in time where the real world we see everyday translates into complexly imaginative metaphors that deep down are in fact reality from her perspective.
Judith Brandon is a visionary artist whose paintings and drawings explore the intersection of intuition, weather, and the instinctive wisdom of the natural world. Through a masterful command of materials, she creates work that dissolves the boundaries between the visible and the invisible, inviting viewers to reconnect with the primal intelligence shared by humans and wildlife.
Brandon is the recipient of the International Spiritual Art Award and two Ohio Arts Council grants. Her work has received national recognition, including honors at the International Weather Biennale, for her evocative exploration of the elemental forces that shape both nature and human experience. Museums have included her work in multiple exhibitions, and people across the country collect her work in both corporate and personal collections.
Brandon holds two invention patents and is the co-creator, with artist Erin Mulligan, of the children’s book "Spudz and Bugz". Her commitment to conservation culminated in the largest solo exhibition ever presented at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, an exhibition dedicated to raising awareness of rhinoceros conservation and humanity’s responsibility to protect endangered species.
Brandon’s artistic vision was shaped in childhood, growing up in a home at the foot of a hill that flooded each spring. She could sense the approaching storms, and discovered drawing them was her first and most enduring form of communication. Today, she translates the frequencies of contemporary life through the rhythms of weather and the heightened awareness of wild animals, creating work that asks: what we have forgotten— and what does nature still remember?
Central to Brandon’s practice is the belief in personal sovereignty and our lasting connection to the living world. As she says, “At some point you decide, I am the authority of my life.” Through her art, she celebrates the autonomy, resilience, and extraordinary perception of wild creatures, reminding us that beneath modern life lies an ancient relationship with the Earth that continues to shape who we are.
"I do find it kind of remarkable that we both work in layers. Erin from drawing to painting and me from painting to drawing." - Judith Brandon
More about this collaboration will be posted in the discussion.
Advertisement
Where is it happening?
2645 Cleveland Ave NW, Canton, OH, United States, Ohio 44709
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.
Host or PublisherCyrus Custom Framing & Art Gallery
