My Journey As An Artist
My wife and I, with two of our three children.Getting An Education
After earning my Bachelor’s in Fine Art at Virginia Tech in 1977, I married my college sweetheart, brenda, and started a family.
Putting In The Work
My first jobs were in commercial art and sign painting, before finally landing a job in the Scenic Design department at the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) in Virginia Beach. I have proudly worked there since 1983.
After I gained several years of experience in different styles, such as painting murals and faux finishes, I realized I was booking more and more jobs. I have been highly sought after by local design firms ever since.
The Path To Galleries
In 2002, I decided to resume painting landscapes and seascapes. These quickly sold to art galleries throughout Richmond, Norfolk, and Virginia Beach.
These works are stunning yet arduous to create.
“Three Brothers and Three Sisters” by Eric Unser
“Spring Path” by Eric Unser
“Amy” by Eric Unser (sold)Suddenly, during the pandemic, my style evolved again. I felt the need to free myself from the constraints of representational subject matter. Every artist uses as a tool to apply paint, and usually that’s a paint brush; basically a stick with bristles attached.
Jackson Pollock started with brushes, then progressed to flinging the paint, before finally discarding the brush all together in favor of a wooden spoon, a stick, or even a can.
Propelled Into The Stratosphere
One of my first abstract paintings, “Official” by Eric Unser (sold).During this new evolution into abstract paintings, I am finding or building my own tools too. I use different techniques and machines to manipulate the paint, then apply physics – pendulums, drywall trowels, tilting turntables, and a powerful electronic spin table that enables me to spin canvases up to 6 feet or more. After carefully putting all the parameters in place, I set it in motion. The result is controlled chaos!
Sometimes the results are stunning, sometimes not up to my standards. I have to decide quickly if I should keep it, or do I need to paint over it, or sometimes scrape off the wet paint to reveal something quite wonderful. To me, each new painting is an adventure!
With abstract painting, the viewer can stay engaged with the art, bringing in their own experience.
Memories can be triggered.
Are we looking through a microscope?
Are we underwater?
Are we far above earth, in the realm of outer space?
It can be all of that depending on the day and the viewers perspective.
This is where art and motion collide!
