Artist Profile: Eric Doucette

Eric Doucette

22678 S. Tyson Circle
LaCygne, KS 66040

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Bio:

Inspiration comes from many different sources. In Kindergarten I had an art teacher, Mrs. Fanning, with a bouffant hairdo, heavy make-up & perfume, and a strut like Audrey Hepburn in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” I remember clearly her first lesson. On a large piece of paper, she drew a one-sided house, then added dimension to it. So simple – so cool. I was six and I was hooked. Twelve years later I was hooked again - this time by the ornate architecture of Balboa Park in San Diego. At 33, the components of art and ornament meshed into what became a longstanding career in decorative painting and specialty finishes. Working alongside a masterful employer and a variety of talented artists, my day to day was a virtual classroom of paint and texture technique, design and application. The art on display was inspired by client comments on how they wished they could take our work with them if they ever moved. Simple enough! Integrating texture with pattern into a movable form of art is the root concept. Choosing from an array of historic design and ornament, which our world has abundantly provided, is fairly easy. Transforming what’s provided into line drawings and then into works of art using plaster as a medium is the challenge. Line drawings are adhered to stretched canvasses of plaster embedded in burlap. Individual sections, cut by hand, are removed allowing for additional layers of tinted plaster. Once complete and the design is revealed, fine details are carved. As my technique has evolved, a variety of embellishments are often added – wood moldings, mirrors, metallic leaf, glass tile – as well as additives to the plaster. In other words, this ain’t paint!