Lyrical, haunting, yet poignant at the same time, Eric Fortune’s paintings make lasting impressions. These are characters who are neither out of place in the world, nor at home in it – they are characters wrapped in their own worlds. The emotionally complex metaphors Fortune paints are richly evocative. His imagery is quiet yet dynamic, and seasoned with a touch of surrealism that takes us to captivating places, beyond our everyday experience but filled with truth.
Packed with emotional nuances he creates soft yet riveting lighting and atmosphere. With uncompromising patience and discipline he slowly builds up his luminous characters and worlds until they radiate life.
And so what sometimes seems to be a simple image to the viewer becomes richer and richer as he or she becomes increasingly entranced by the emotional presences within the art. A true original, Fortune is emerging as a subtle yet powerful artistic voice.
Eric is an artist based out of Columbus, Ohio. He received his BFA from Columbus College of Art and Design where he was honored with the Outstanding Senior Award upon graduation. His work continued to garner acclaim with the acceptance into such prestigious annual competitions as the Society of Illustrators NY and LA as well as Spectrum and others. He was the Artist Guest of Honor for ConGlomeration and was recently awarded the Jack Gaughan Award for Best Emerging Artist of 2009.
“I think technique is important to the extent that one is conveying what they want, how they want. But I don’t have a secret technique by any means. It’s just a lot of patience and hard work. If anything, it seems there is more copying of other artists’ styles going around than technique. A lot of sub-par derivative work continues to pop up. Being rather new on the scene, I’m trying hard to produce my best works and distinguish myself from the rest. Hopefully, I can make this a long term thing.” – Eric Fortune (Arrested Motion)
