Proudly Representing: Eric G. Thompson

proudly representing

E R I C G. T H O M P S O N

proudly representing

E R I C G. T H O M P S O N

on the cover:

Old Farm Road

oil

30x24

225 Canyon Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico | 505.983.1434 | www.meyergalleries.com | meyersfnm@aol.com

Artist Statement

Eric G. Thompson 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 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 now resides in Salt Lake City, Utah and has been selling his work professionally since 2002. 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.”

Eric G. Thompson Q+A with the artist

Meyer Gallery is proud to now be representing Salt Lake City artist Eric G. Thompson. Thompson’s contemporary realist landscape, figurative and still life compositions capture quiet moments of a simpler life from vacant rural landscapes to lonely weathered objects. His pieces capture the peaceful feeling of time spent alone or the emotional tug of fading memories. Thompson works in watercolor, oil and most distinctly, egg tempera. The latter is medium that has been used for centuries to create jewel-like artworks from an emulsion of pigment and egg yolk.

Eric Thompson created his first egg tempera painting using yolk from chicken eggs he found on his father’s farm. His subject was the rusted engine of his father’s old Ford tractor; its weathered steel, fading patina and old Ford logo emits a strong feeling of nostalgia. The piece now hangs in Thompson’s studio not only as a sentimental reminder of times past, but has an inspiration for his current work. “It’s very challenging for me even these days to capture the emotion I did in that piece,” he says. “How did I do that with my first painting? I think it was the universe telling me to keep going, that there’s something to this.”

We conducted a Q & A with Eric Thompson to better introduce our collectors to the artist and his work.

Visit us in the gallery to see Thompson’s available paintings or browse his full inventory on our website.

Can you share your journey in becoming a self-taught professional artist?

I’ve been painting professionally for about 13 or 14 years. When I started I saw so many artists who had gone to school, studied professionally and they all looked so similar to their teachers. I wanted a real authentic viewpoint with not too much influence. It made me want to see what kind of vision could come from my soul, trial and error, failing a million times and trying again. It was an important part of how my vision developed and I think my collectors pick up on that. I studied different artists I love and learned their techniques. That was really important.

Have you always been working in your current style?

I actually started out as a surrealist. My first year of college I met this surrealist artist and in the moment that I saw his work I knew that without a doubt, this was my calling. It was a profound moment for me and I never looked back. The moment I changed to realism was an interesting experience. I thought realism was just boring landscapes and I didn’t find a lot of meaning to them. But one day I was in this bookstore and opened up an Andrew Wyeth book. I came across an egg tempera painting of a long oar lying on top of this rock wall with a storm in the background – and I was completely bowled over. The emotion that went through me – I never knew you could capture that in realism. I was so moved that it changed me over night. I became the seeker of how to capture this emotion in realism. It was so profound to me. It’s just amazing what a painting can do.

Why do you choose to work in multiple mediums (oil, watercolor and egg tempera) and is there one you prefer?

Right now I prefer egg tempera because you can get super detailed with it. But it depends on what I’m trying to capture. Each medium I use has its strengths and weaknesses; they all have their own power and are beautiful in their own way.

Egg tempera is just so unique and the history is amazing, but the process is labor intensive. Essentially tempera is watercolor with a yolk base. The panel itself is a very old recipe that dates back to the

Renaissance: rabbit skin glue, titanium whiting and marble dust - almost like a fresco. I prepare the panel, front and back, then sand and only then is it ready to paint on. The end result is so unique and the history is such a conversation piece.

You paint a variety of subjects – what are the aesthetics, ideas or techniques that remain consistent across your body of work as a whole?

I think there is an aloneness or starkness to my work. A lesson I learned from Wyeth is that aloneness and loneliness are two very different things. Certain people crave aloneness more than others. It’s that complete enjoyment of being at total ease, or that fulfillment you get from being alone for certain amounts of time.

There’s peace that comes from that. Loneliness is more of a desire or longing. I convey a bit of both; there’s something strangely beautiful in loneliness but I think I lean more toward aloneness in my work. As an artist I’ve always craved time alone to contemplate, reflect or digest what I’ve experienced.

What is it about a subject, moment or scene that inspires you to paint?

It’s very subconscious. I’ll see something and it will move me in a way. I’ll look at a subject and wonder what it’s tied back to – my grandma’s farm? A certain experience I had as a child? I’ll try to figure out why it’s so powerful to me or why is there meaning, but it’s very subconscious. I’ll take a mental note and come back to it and do a sketch or watercolor or take a picture to reference from. It’s a very fascinating thing, what makes you want to paint…why does this thing have meaning to me and will someone else find meaning in it? I try to trust that if it moves me, it will eventually move someone else.

How do you give a more modern or contemporary edge to traditional realism?

I do a lot of cropping with my images, which I think makes them even more powerful. I also work with a lot of negative space. That’s another lesson I learned from Wyeth, that what you take out of a painting can be more powerful than what you put in. That simplicity is such a big part of my work – getting it to where it speaks to your soul without all these distractions.

I’m also influenced by Japanese aesthetic of wab-sabi. It’s the appreciation of how things acquire a patina or are weathered and become more beautiful than they were before. They have a soul or story or history to them. That’s a huge part of what I’m after in my paintings as well. I love the stories that could possibly be told. I think that gives it a deeper level of meaning and interest.

What do you hope to convey to collectors and viewers of your work?

I think overall it’s an underlying current of emotion that I’m looking to pull from the viewers. Reawaken something forgotten or move them maybe even without knowing why. The same way I was struck by Andrew Wyeth’s painting in that bookstore – I didn’t know why but I was deeply moved by the subject and struck by the way it was painted.

Something else that I’ve recently realized in my paintings is that they are images of the life I’d like to lead – a simple life, one with less technology and distractions. Not that I’m anti-technology, but I long for a simpler time and all my paintings point to that.

Strong Bones oil 20x18

Summer Basket egg tempera 12x16

Steady Rain oil 40x24

Cloaked oil 14x11

Ode to Keurners egg tempera 30x24

Introspective oil 30x26

Storm at Sea egg tempera 24x31

Cool Morning oil 12x16

Morning Dew oil 30x24

Essence oil 24x30

Keurners’ Barn egg tempera 18x24

Seasoned

egg tempera 16x20

October First egg tempera 16x11

Farm Road II oil 20x24

Once Loved egg tempera 20x24

Artist Resume EXHIBITS: 2018 Montgomery Lee Fine Art, two-man exhibition, Park City, UT 2018 The Artist Study, “Aesthetics of Personhood” two-man exhibition, Southhampton, NY 2017 Springville Museum of Art, “93rd Annual Spring Salon,” group exhibition, Springville, UT 2017 Mockingbird Gallery, “4th Annual All Gallery Group Show,” group exhibition, Bend, OR 2016 Springville Museum of Art, “92nd Annual Spring Salon,” group exhibition, Springville, UT 2015 Matthews Gallery “New Works” solo exhibition, Santa Fe, NM 2014 Montgomery Lee Fine Art group exhibition, Park City, UT 2014 Tree’s Place Gallery, Small Works group exhibition, Orleans, MA 2014 Matthews Gallery “The Boundless Moment” solo exhibition, Santa Fe, NM 2014 Springville Museum of Art, “90th Annual Spring Salon,” group exhibition, Springville, UT 2014 Tree’s Place Gallery, “Art in Bloom,” group exhibition, Orleans, MA 2013 Kimball Art Center, “PC Collects II,” exhibit of private collections, Park City, UT 2013 Tree’s Place Gallery, Small Works group exhibition, Orleans, MA 2013 Matthews Gallery “Breaking Through with Light” solo exhibition, Santa Fe, NM 2012 Matthews Gallery (formerly DNFA) “Shadow Play” solo exhibition, Santa Fe, NM 2011 Edward Hopper House Museum “Hopper Re-Imagined” group exhibition, Nyack, NY 2011 Deloney Newkirk Fine Art "Glimpses of Solitude" solo exhibition, Santa Fe, NM 2011 Quidley & Co., group exhibition, Boston, MA 2010 Featured at the Boston International Fine Art Show, Boston, MA 2010 Arcadia Fine Arts "Annual Small Works Show" group exhibition, New York, NY 2010 Deloney Newkirk Fine Art "Visual Haiku" solo exhibition, Santa Fe, NM 2010 Springville Museum of Art Spring Salon, group exhibition, Springville, UT 2009 Deloney Newkirk Fine Art "Contemporary Realism" solo exhibition, Santa Fe, NM 2008 Deloney Newkirk Fine Art "Light and Silence" solo exhibition, Santa Fe, NM 2007 Deloney Newkirk Fine Art “Glorification of the Everyday” solo exhibition, Santa Fe, NM 2006 “A” Gallery Holiday Show, group exhibition, Salt Lake City, UT 2006 “A” Gallery, group exhibition – four artists, Salt Lake City, UT 2005 “A” Gallery Holiday Show, group exhibition, Salt Lake City, UT 2005 Bountiful-Davis Art Center, two-man exhibition, Bountiful, UT 2004 Utah County Gallery, group exhibition, Provo, UT 2004 Barnes and Noble at Sugarhouse Commons, solo exhibition, Salt Lake City, UT 2003 Springville Museum, “18th Annual Religious and Spiritual Show, group, Springville, UT 2003 The 15th and 15th Gallery, solo exhibition, Salt Lake City, UT 1996 Oasis Café gallery, solo exhibition, Salt Lake City, UT AWARDS: 2018 13th International ARC Salon, Finalist, “Spring Blossoms" 2007 Springville Museum of Art, Spring Salon, Award of Merit, “Forgotten Road” 2003 Utah County Historic Courthouse Gallery’s Spring Art Show, Fourth Place 2003 22nd Annual UT County Courthouse Gallery's "Showing Off Utah 2003," Merit Award PUBLICATIONS: 2018 “Montgomery Lee Exhibit will Visually Serenade Art Lovers”, article in Park Record 2014 “Exhibit Spotlights Three Utah Artists”, article in Park Record 2014 “The Boundless Moment”, August article, American Art Collector 2014 “The Painter’s Vision is Not a Lens”, Weekly Alibi, Albuquerque NM weekly journal

2014 Cover Art for “Waiting for a Song,” novel by Mariam Kobras 2013 “Eric G. Thompson, An Artist Breaking Through” article featured in Fine Art Connoisseur’s “Fine Art Today” 2013 Cover Art for “Song of the Storm,” non-fiction novel by Mariam Kobras 2013 Cover Art for “Under the Same Sun,” non-fiction novel by Mariam Kobras 2012 Cover Art for “The Distant Shore,” non-fiction novel by Mariam Kobras 2011 Southwest Art Magazine, April article “Inside Edition” 2010 Santa Fean Magazine “Art: Openings, Events, Reviews, People” 2007 American Art Collector, June article “The Simple Life” by editor Joshua Rose ART FEATURED IN FILMS: 2012 Movie “Darling Companion” featured work 2006 Movie “Wild Hogs” featured work 2003 Hallmark's Movie of the Week, "Plain Song" featured work 2001 Caroline Film’s “Touched By an Angel” featured in 7th season 2000 Caroline Film’s “Touched By an Angel” featured in 6th season

Artist Price List

“Cloaked”

14x11

oil

$3,400

“Cool Morning”

12x16

oil

$3,700

“Essence”

24x30

oil

$7,400

“Farm Road II”

20x24

oil

$5,800

“Introspective”

30x26

oil

$7,900

”Keurners’ Barn”

18x24

egg tempera

$5,800

“Morning Dew”

30x24

oil

$7,400

”October First”

16x11

egg tempera

$3,600

“Ode to Keurners”

30x24

egg tempera

$8,100

”Old Farm Road”

30x24

oil

$7,400

“Once Loved”

20x24

egg tempera

$6,300

”Seasoned”

16x20

egg tempera

$5,000

“Steady Rain”

40x24

oil

$8,700

”Storm at Sea”

24x31

egg tempera

$8,600

“Strong Bones”

20x18

oil

$5,000

”Summer Basket”

12x16

egg tempera

$4,200

225 Canyon Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico | 505.983.1434 | www.meyergalleries.com | meyersfnm@aol.com