Artist Statement

Seeing profound beauty in simplicity, Eric Thompson seeks to evoke deep emotion from the viewer.  Eric believes “a painting needs to
remind someone of something in their life that they have forgotten.”  Summoning that recollection is what Eric’s paintings do.  They
invoke, as Eric observes, “a beautiful, haunting memory.”  

Eric uses light and shadow to communicate a quiet mood through humble and ordinary subjects.  As a child Eric would “search out a
patch of light entering the room and sit there forever, in total bliss.”  Direct sunlight on an object “brings me peace” he reflects.  Eric
says “that every one of my paintings is essentially a study of light or lack thereof.”
 
There is a calmness in Eric’s paintings.  As human beings, Eric observes, “we need more quietness in this fast-paced, complex life.”  
He believes that “in a world of pop culture that seems to be anti-silence, people seek the stillness they need without even realizing it.”  
Eric’s treatment of light and shadow, coupled with the elevation of unassuming objects creates that peace.
 
He chooses his media based on the moment he wishes to portray. He uses watercolor, oil, and egg tempera to paint a variety of subject
matter from landscapes to the human figure. Eric acknowledges that “discipline is a struggle and inspiration is a necessity for me to create
my best work.”   When a painting “ceases to inspire me during the painting process, I abandon it for another, for I believe that the spirit of
a painting is essential.”  

Eric has been painting in the Utah valley since 1989. His body of work is a visual journal of his 36 years of life and travels through the
Western states.  He’ll continue to explore and shed light on the simple, modest objects and moments in our lives, by painting them,
capturing our spirit in the canvas.

A quote hanging in Eric’s studio is by Elbert Hubbard: “Little minds are interested in the extraordinary; great minds in the commonplace.”