Ruza Erceg "Geometric Landscape" Watercolor on paper #397 Framed 16" x 20" (American, born 1898, died 1993) Ruza Erceg (1898-1993) painted colorful, rural scenes based on memories of her homeland in Croatia (formerly Yugoslavia) in Europe. Erceg was born in Yugoslavia and immigrated to the United States in 1922. After settling in Oregon and raising nine children, she began painting in 1961 when she told her daughter "If I have paint brush, I start to make painting." Her graphic designer son bought her painting supplies the same day. She continually experimented and expanded on her technique, and painted into her nineties.