Eric Thompson is a self-taught artist newly residing in Fairview, UT. At 52, he’s had the pleasure of being represented in museums all over the country, and featured in publications like American Art Collector and Southwest Art, winning awards with both local and international salons (13th International ARC Salon, Finalist). He’s studied the masters to develop the fine art of oil, the unforgivable watercolor, and the dying art of egg tempera, an old-world medium that few master due to its difficulty and nuance.
A student of faith, truth, and the winding roads of life, discipline and determination are his strong suit, choosing the school of trial and error over any formal art training. He paints in his backyard studio with his wife, muse, and business manager, Hilary, his two daughters, lots of chickens, and his intrepid French bulldog always close at hand.
Artist Statement:
Eric captures stillness. He captures moments. Whether he is painting in oil, egg tempera or watercolor, he is seeking to evoke a haunting memory, a lost feeling.In a fast-paced world of deadlines, obligations and busyness, Eric invites you into the peace that he has enveloped within this momentary glimpse in time. Believing that we all seek silence, without even realizing it, he implores you to dwell on something simple you otherwise would have overlooked, or have long-forgotten. Literally and figuratively, he sheds light into the attics of our lives, even if it is just to awaken a feeling buried deep within the viewer.A major influence on Eric’s work is the Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi, an appreciation of imperfection, age and patina, often referred to as “flawed beauty.” Balance and light are also key elements found in every painting he creates.Like the characters of the objects, figures and houses Eric paints, his technique has been refined through life experience. He is completely self-taught, and believes this process has led him to find a unique voice and vision, through perseverance, trial and error.
A painter since 1989, Eric originally harkens from Cottonwood Heights, Utah and has been selling his work professionally since 1998. He paints from his travels and the treasures discovered along the way, and he chooses his medium based on the mood he wishes to convey. Eric will continue to paint, evoking our memories, shedding light on the beauty and solitude of ordinary moments once forgotten, now glorified before us in fluid brushstrokes. Eric seeks to find greatness in the most humble of subject matter, illustrated by Elbert Hubbard’s words, hanging in his studio: “Little minds are interested in the extraordinary; great minds in the commonplace.”
