Eric
E. Fitzpatrick --A Biography.
"An evolution in progress...."
Eric
E. Fitzpatrick was born in Roanoke Virginia in 1953. He grew up in
a loving and traditional family that still resides in the valley today.
His early childhood activities
showed an artistic inclination (he was constantly drawing and building...),
yet as a youth he never imagined that one day it would be his profession.
Adolescence saw him take a more
traditional path with involvement in team sports and student government
(he was President of his class and President of the Student Body at
Patrick Henry High School) and a movement toward political Science
when he enrolled at Virginia Tech. It
was at this point that his life took a major turn. After taking several
introductory drawing classes, he was struck with the "wonder" of
artistic expression. He felt that he had found his true calling, and
with the encouragement and blessing of his parents, switched his major
to art. In 1975 he earned his B.A. in studio art, and came back to
Roanoke where he lived with his parents while getting his career started. The
early days were tough, and Eric painted billboards, designed T-shirts
and did house portraits to make ends meet.At this point he made it
his goal to someday be the most successful artist in the region, and
within a decade his prints of local landmarks along with his vibrant
watercolors fulfilled this goal.(Eric has been voted the best artist
in the region in every poll taken since they began in the 1980s.) Having
achieved his goal of financial success and local notoriety, Eric found
it to be "hollow".Though his prints and watercolors were
highly in demand, he felt he needed to follow his heart away from the
profitable, and toward artistic fulfillment. Education seemed to be
a way back to the fine arts. Five summers spent painting in Italy's
Tuscany Region were crucial to his development, as was a month
of workshops per year during the period from 1988-98. During this time
Eric started taking classes in opaque media, soon developing an expertise
in casein, pastel and acrylic. Still,
over the years Eric had noticed in the great museums, oil paintings were the works that truly
moved him. This realization led him finally to start experimenting
in oils. In 1999, the renewed focus on fine art required all of his
time, so Eric started turning down all offers of commission so that
he could concentrate on his artwork exclusively. This brave move yielded
results. After years of feeling "fairly awkward " in
the medium, August of 2002 saw him "break through " to exciting
and free flowing oils for the first time. It happened on the Coast
of Maine and continued as he painted on the Island of Monhegan and
later on North Carolina's Outer Banks. Today
Fitzpatrick continues to follow his heart and feels that his best work
lies before him.Says Eric," It feels as if I am just starting
to understand some of the major principles of painting, and it is thrilling
to be able to express things that were technically and conceptually
impossible for me before...I can't wait to see what lies ahead as this
gift unfolds." |