Eric Theodore
About Eric Theodore
Drawing influence from Michelangelo, Paul Cadmus, and Thomas Eakins, Eric Theodore presents the body as a poetic form. Charged with emotional undercurrents, his subjects often hover between action and stillness, in gestures of grace, tension, or states of reflection.
Eric Theodore is a California-based figurative painter whose work explores the sensuality, symbolism, and introspection of the male body. His paintings—often inspired by his personal experience in springboard diving—portray male athletes in quiet, contemplative moments, rendered in soft, luminous oils on panel or canvas.
Born and raised in East Tennessee, the rolling landscapes of the Smoky Mountains quietly shaped his visual sensibility. Drawn early to the figure, Eric pursued his undergraduate studies in representational drawing, painting, and glassblowing. After teaching middle and high school art in Texas for several years, he relocated to Southern California to pursue an MFA in Painting at Laguna College of Art + Design (LCAD). During his time at LCAD, he ran figure drawing workshops, served as a teaching assistant, and was active in student government, ultimately receiving both the Trustee’s Choice Award and becoming the school’s first postgraduate Artist‑in‑Residence.
From these academic and pedagogical roots, Theodore’s work has coalesced around a deeply felt commitment to the human body—especially the male form—as a site of emotional introspection. His paintings typically deploy oil on panel or canvas (with drawing as a frequent precursor), rendered in a refined, softly realistic style.
“I create detailed paintings of sensual male figures that encourage introspection. I pay close attention to the way light glows on the skin and affects the overall mood of the painting.”
This emphasis on mood and inner life gives his work a quiet sensual resonance, a subdued but earnest longing that privileges emotional atmosphere over explicit provocation. Over time, Theodore has refined a vocabulary of subtle symbolism, flesh as poetic form, and dualities of strength and vulnerability.
A distinctive pivot in his practice has been his engagement with diving (both as observer and participant). According to his artist biography, Theodore moved to California and began diving with the Mission Viejo Nadadores, which feeds directly into his evolving imagery of suspended bodies, notions of weightlessness, and the liminal space between water, air, and skin. In this mode, the body becomes both subject and metaphor, as he negotiates the boundaries between figure, movement, and psychological depth.
On the exhibition front, Theodore’s work has been shown in museum and gallery settings across California and the U.S. Notably, in 2024 he was included in Resonantly Me at the Bakersfield Museum of Art and Reflections of Resilience at Laguna Art Museum. Previously he participated in Eros, C’est La Vie at Gallery 110 in Seattle (2020). These exhibitions reflect both his foothold in the contemporary figurative scene and the growing critical interest in his quietly poetic approach. Additional recognition includes acquisition of his works by LCAD and institutional awards.