[3][7] Erbe's interest in art began at a young age when he became fascinated by the illustrations in his school textbooks.
[8] At age sixteen, Erbe dropped out of school, and moved into a studio apartment in Weehawken, New Jersey.
To support his family, Erbe worked as an apprentice at an engraving company and painted in his spare time.
[9] Erbe was particularly inspired by artists like William Michael Harnett and John F. Peto, who applied the trompe-l'œil approach to their paintings.
[10] In 1969, Erbe explored a more contemporary method to trompe-l'œil called Levitational Realism, in which the objects in his paintings appear to be floating.