Eric Doucette

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.

My art 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 mixed with pigment 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 plaster. Once complete and the design is revealed, fine details are carved. As this art form evolved, embellishments have been added – wood moldings, mirrors, metallic leaf, glass tile – as well as additives to the plaster.

From Moorish ornament in the Alhambra to a stamped parchment book cover, Parisian surface ornament to carved panels in the Vatican, wrought iron to tablecloths – the designs are as worldly as they are timeless. I know you will enjoy this visual experience as much as I have enjoyed creating it.