Painting of a man and a woman, one with a gold halo, the other with curly black hair, against a dark sky with a full moon. The man is holding a cigarette, the other has a surprised expression, wearing a red and white dress.

Close-up of a portrait painting of a young woman with curly hair, wearing a red and white outfit, against a textured, dark background.

Painting of young man with short hair, holding a cigarette, with a gold halo behind his head, against a textured blue-green background.

Needful Things

Nick Erker

2025 | oil on canvas | 40 x 40 inches

Needful Things addresses the yearnings and cravings we have as young adults and teens.

We often look for things that we find attractive or exciting when in fact they are unsafe, damaging, or even bad for us.

Attraction to the dangerous can be ruinous.

This happened to my maternal grandmother who found herself attracted to the more exciting man verses the more educated and stable man that she married later in life after my grandfather passed away.