Artist Eric Siebenthal

“My childhood consisted of moving around from place to place. I was born in Los Angeles County, California in 1977, but shuffled between California, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Colorado.

I had always searched for a positive way to express myself, however fleeting. Painting rapidly became an obsession as I soon realized that what I had been looking for wasn’t at all what I was expecting. This creative means of expression didn’t have to be beautiful and it certainly didn’t have to make sense. It was most often spontaneous, surreal, and subconscious.

Most of my works include, to some degree or another, light, dark, and water, the good, the bad, and the reflection of both. I can’t help but process through reflection, however odd this may seem.  Regardless of location, I have always been surrounded by water, whether it be the California coast, the rivers and lakes throughout New Mexico, the ocean and streams surrounding Hawaii, or the plethora of rivers and lakes in Colorado.

This all came together with a mistake, made on a typical night of frenzied manic painting, canvas spread on every possible flat surface, and a large cup of mixing water. In this mistake I saw a perfection I could barely contain or control. Yet my obsession with painting and the development of this new-found technique became even more feverish. I use only my breath while creating the vast majority of my artwork. I want the completed works to look as untouched and as close to the undisturbed water’s reflection as humanly possible.

In my mind, art becomes significant when it alters the mood of the viewer.”