More than Just a Pretty Picture...
Recurring Themes
By Eric Conklin

The Violin
The Violin is one of the most beautiful and challenging of the string instruments to paint correctly in its design. If you think about it, the traditional violin design was improved mathematically and has not changed in over 400 years. Like painters, the violin maker has his own signature, and the subtle differences will tell you if the violin design is by Amati, Stradivari, Guarneri, etc. The challenge of painting the violin is to paint it so accurately that a professional player can tell who the maker was.

Money
There are probably less than ten professional Trompe l' Oeil Artists in the United States that paint money. The ideal money painting is one that will "fool the eye" when viewed from any distance or angle. It is by far the most demanding of the trompe l'oeil paintings and the most time consuming. Money paintings are the most popular with viewers and it gives an artist a chance to demonstrate a technical skill that has mostly disappeared.

Miss Vikki's Class
There are few things that make sense to me 100% of the time and I must admit that when it comes to using logic...my wife is one of them. As I recall, the painting series "Miss Vikki's Class" started with a message that my wife left for me in my studio on a small antique child's chalkboard: "Don't spend money". There have been many more messages from Vikki - and I don't believe that I'll run out of material anytime soon.

Sherlock Holmes
I painted my first still-life "Sherlock Holmes, Mystery Painting" in 2002. By using hidden clues found in the painting the viewer could discover the title of the painting, thus solving the mystery. More of these paintings with the Sherlock Holmes theme are planned for the future.

Indiana Jones
An American icon, this adventurer tugs at the testosterone in all of us. The allure of adventure and danger mixed with intelligent curiosity brings out the best in us with a "Can Do Attitude" and sums up what it is to be an American.

Puppets and Marionettes
I was painting for a Trompe l' Oeil exhibit at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin and heard that the museum provided art programs for children. I remember my parents taking me to museums and I thought, what a boring place to be when it's sunny outside and you're eight years old. So, I painted a marionette for the exhibit and for the children. I often add a message in the title - one the parents may need to explain it to their children...or vice versa! I'll continue the puppets and marionette paintings because you never know when Mom or Dad will drag you to an art show!