With a university art degree in hand, Ersland was hired as an illustrator at a large Advertising Studio, Hellman Associates, where  he worked for a decade. He then freelanced for another ten years with representation in New York and Chicago and honed his academic drawing and painting skills to perfection.

Ersland's work now focuses purely on the fine art of the Old West and Equine Sports. He divides up his working day between gallery paintings, family and his sport horse Ike.

The fact that his Western Paintings were featured for fifteen years in the juried national Cheyenne Frontier Days Western Spirit Art Show earned him a permanent place in the CFD Summer Art Show and Sale. 2023 will be the fourth year in a row that he will exhibit. Winning Best in Show, previously in 2018; "Best Acrylic" in 2016 and 2012 and "Best Miniature" in 2013.  Also, Ersland took home a  "Best of the West" Blue Ribbon and a "Best of the Wild Horse" 2nd Place Ribbon in the Rock Springs Wild Horse Art Show in 2011. See more about my painting in awards and shows. 

Besides showing annually in Cheyenne, his work has also been regularly exhibited in The Mountain Oyster Western Art Show in Tucson, AZ and is a member of the American Academy of Equine Artists where you can view his paintings each year at various gallery locations along the East Coast or Kentucky.

Presently Ersland's work can be found in Galleries and in Juried Shows in principal galleries throughout the Rocky Mountains and the Southwest featuring his Art of the American Cowboy and Cowgirl with Wild Horses and Rodeo Riders to boot. The Chisholm Gallery in Wellington, FL features all of Ersland's Fox Hunting and Equestrian Sporting Art work.

Recently an article in Sidelines Magazine featured an interview and pictorial.

An avid horse owner and rider, Ersland has fox hunted from fast horseback but these days prefers the joy of trail riding and training. All of this riding experience has made him an informed artist on the ways and feel of the horse.