“A Day in the Life” with: Visual Artist Erin Hollingshead

July 29, 2026 Emilea Semancik Artist Profiles, Arts

If there’s one thing I know about Erin Hollingshead, it’s that she is happiest when she’s near the ocean. Even on days when she’s not surfing, she’s walking the beach, exploring tide pools, or heading to the coast with her camera. She always seems to notice the little things. Those moments often find their way into her artwork.

I’ve known Erin long enough to know that making art was never just a hobby for her. She’s always creating something, whether it’s sketching ideas after a surf or a hike, carving a new linocut, or spending hours painting in her studio. After graduating from NSCAD University, she turned that passion into a career as a painter, illustrator, printmaker, and educator.

What makes Erin’s work special is that it isn’t just about the ocean itself, but about the connection people have with it. She has a gift for capturing those moments in a way that feels genuine and reflects her careful observation of the world around her.

Outside of making art, Erin loves sharing creativity with others through teaching. Seeing people discover and hone their own artistic abilities brings her just as much joy as creating her own work. It’s been exciting to watch her combine her love of nature, art, and education into a career that feels completely her own.

Erin Hollingshead
This photo represents the majority of my camera roll on my phone – a photo of a beach! This is Martinique beach – a place that has inspired many of my paintings and a favourite spot to surf.
Erin Hollingshead
This photo was taken at the Halifax Crafters Winter Market in 2025. I often bring my work to art and craft shows – it’s a great way to connect with other artists and makers, and the community. Find me at some markets this fall in the HRM!
This piece is titled Blushing Tide I and is an oil painting on canvas. I took some reference photos at sunset in Cow Bay, and the sky was reflecting bits of pink from the sunset onto the water’s surface. I made two paintings inspired by this sunset – it’s been really fun to paint water surfaces with sunset colours reflected on the water.
This is one of my linocut prints. I make my linocuts by creating an original drawing on a piece of linoleum, which is then carved by hand. Once the carving is complete, I roll ink onto its surface and press it to paper to get an original impression of the carving. Each linocut is an original artwork. This piece is from my “Look Out” series, in which each figure looks out at the landscape they are exploring.
Many of my artworks are an observation of ocean life. I have an ongoing series of ocean animals that I’ve made linocuts of, or ink and watercolour illustrations of. This is my most recent linocut of a Halibut.
Many of my artworks are inspired by surfing. It’s my favourite thing to do, and I will never stop making artworks of people surfing! This piece was inspired by an August sunset on the Eastern Shore.
Erin Hollingshead
This image comes from a workshop that I taught at Argyle Fine Art. I lead a few workshops a year through Argyle, mostly focused on linocut. This workshop was during Ocean Week, and I showed folks how to print a linocut of some seaweeds and some seashells. I love being able to show people how an art form works and teaching them how to create something.
Erin Hollingshead
Photos like these always make people gasp and wonder. I like to surf in the winter! Some of the most amazing experiences I’ve had have been a surf in February. This photo was taken at Lawrencetown Beach, and I was heading out with my partner for a surf on the new board he made me.

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Which ’hood are you in?

I live and work in the west end of Halifax. I’ve lived in this spot for 10 years, and it is where my ocean-inspired artworks began.

What do you do?

I am an artist and an educator of the arts. I like to paint, draw and practice printmaking. I’ve always been an artist, and it is something I will always be and will always pursue. More recently, I have started teaching visual arts to teenagers! It’s been very rewarding and challenging to encourage others to see and develop their own artistic abilities.

What are you currently working on?

I am working on two projects right now. The first is a series of oil paintings that will be shown at the Tides Contemporary Art Gallery in Kentville for the month of August. This series of paintings focuses on water surfaces, surfers, and my beach finds. The second project that I’m starting in August is a series of 5 large-scale circular oil paintings of water surfaces that I hope to display in various places around the city once the project is complete in 2027.

Where can we find your work?

You can find my original paintings through Argyle Fine Art – a wonderful gallery, run by some great people, on Barrington Street. You can also find my linocuts and art prints at Inkwell Boutique in Halifax, and many other lovely shops around the province!!!

 

About Emilea Semancik 36 Articles
Emilea Semancik was born in North Vancouver. Emilea has always always wanted to work as a freelance writer and currently writes for the Vancouver Guardian. Taking influence from journalism culture surrounding the great and late Anthony Bourdain, she is a recipe author working towards publishing her own series of books. You can find her food blog on Instagram: @ancestral.foods
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