BIO
Eric Theodore is a figurative artist originally from East Tennessee. He received his bachelor’s degree in 2015 from Centre College in Kentucky, where he studied representational drawing and painting as well as glassblowing and received the top art award in his year. He then taught middle and high school art in Texas, where his students were recognized in state and international competitions. In 2022 he moved to California to pursue his MFA at Laguna College of Art + Design and began diving at Mission Viejo Nadadores. He received his MFA in Painting in May 2024, won LCAD’s Trustee’s Choice Award, and was granted LCAD’s first postgraduate Artist-in-Residence fellowship. He recently was an exhibitor in the Laguna Beach Festival of Arts, and has shown at Laguna Art Museum, Oceanside Museum of Art, and Bakersfield Museum of Art.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My paintings feature the contemplative male figure in aquatic and athletic settings, positioned around pools, and surrounded by sky. I explore the body as a poetic composition of light and shadow, charged with emotions that are universal yet deeply personal. My paintings are inspired by my experience in the sport of diving, and fueled by a quiet, earnest longing.
