Eric Thompson is a young artist from U.S., he brings amazing creativity in his art. We just loved what he does and wanted to share with all you.

In this Interview with artist Eric Thompson we talk a little about his art, design background and new project he is working on.

Interview

- Please tell us more about your art and when did you start this passion for design and graphics, and what did you do to take it further and turn it in to your profession?

I like to label my art as “realistic surrealism”; I take things that are abstract or imaginary and analyze them until they become reality. I am more a patient artist than a talented one, I can spend months getting something perfect so that it fits my hyper-detail category.

From a young age I was into detailed illustration. From elementary school into highschool, I would constantly have a sketch pad with me to doodle my ideas down. It wasn’t until recently that I made the leap into doing art as a professional endeavor.

I started framing some of my work and approaching local galleries and businesses, most of whom were happy to have my pieces on display. I’ve slowly started working some pop art themes with my fine art techniques which helps to broaden my horizons.



- Your work is very unique and full of creativity. Where do you find inspiration to create such awesome pieces?

A lot of my inspiration comes from wordplay and irony. Contrasting ideas or rhyming words cause synapses in my brain that make me want to visually manifest the wittiness. So I enjoy reading old books or magazine/internet articles and find interesting words that make me think.

Music is another big inspiration, the whole idea of harmony makes me see colors and patterns that I wouldn’t normally see if I was sitting in silence; I always love to have music playing while I work for ambiance.

Finally, math and science are big influences too. I try to incorporate some right-brained notions into my left-brained activities; patterns, negative space, the golden ratio, etc are all things I try to juggle while working on a piece of art.

- What, according to you are the pros and cons of being a designer?

The best thing about being a designer is the opportunity to flex your entire brain. It isn’t an occupation like being a lawyer or an accountant, you really get to use your whole mind when you work on something; emotions are just as important as skills.

The art community is second to none, so the social aspect of design is another great benefit.

The biggest con of being a designer is that, while you can work without inspiration, it’s hard to get motivated to work on something when you don’t have a spring in your step. Sometimes you can get more done in an hour if you are motivated than you would in the entire day if you aren’t motivated.



- What are your upcoming projects?

Right now I’m trying to finish up my US Banknote series. I did a $0 bill and I have 3 more I’m working on simultaneously. I’m also working on a few websites for 2 clients as well as a personal website. I’m a busy but happy person!

- Which are your top 5 favorite websites, and why?

www.ffffound.com - A very random collection of pictures, it’s easy to get lost browsing it for hours. Sometimes the pop art jogs the brain and inspires me to create something simple and cute.

www.abduzeedo.com – A site devoted to inspiring digital artists. Enough said.

www.2leep.com – This site is interesting, not specifically for artists, but for subject ideas.

www.weburbanist.com – Another random art-inspiration website.

www.instructables.com – This site is just cool. Let’s you think outside the box and inspires you to create using anything and everything around you.

- What are your magic tools, both hardware and software?

For digital art, I use photoshop & illustrator coupled with a whole bunch of plugins, brushes and font libraries. I also use a wacom bamboo pad for sketching a digital framework.

- Where to find you on the web?

I’m still working on my personal site, but for now, my flickr page , twitter or facebook are the easiest ways to get in touch with me. I’m always looking for new friends and somebody to share my work with!