Built From Scratch

24 × 20 inches | Mixed Media on Canvas | Acrylic & Pastel

Built From Scratch is a colorful, dreamlike celebration of home, resilience, and the wonderfully unpredictable beauty of the world around us. A small house sits among a whimsical grove of boldly patterned trees, while layers of rich, earthy color create a landscape that feels simultaneously grounded and fantastical.

Created with acrylic and pastel, the painting moves between playful illustration and expressive abstraction. Brilliant coral, turquoise, orange, pink, and gold rise above deep, textural earth tones, giving the work an exuberant autumn energy. Drips, marks, and overlapping layers allow the landscape to feel as though it is still growing and evolving.

Painted during an unusually stormy New Jersey autumn—just before a powerful nor’easter swept through the area—the work feels especially timely. Beneath the swirling atmosphere and overflowing fall color, the little house remains firmly planted: a reminder that whatever surrounds us, home and life are continually built from scratch.

Joyful, quirky, and a little unexpected, Built From Scratch invites the viewer to imagine their own story within its landscape.

Original artwork by Sherri Ehrlich
24 × 20 inches
Mixed media on canvas — acrylic & pastel
Dreams in Flight Series