PORTSMOUTH AFTER DARK
SEPTEMBER 5 - OCTOBER 1
works by Eric MacDonald

• Free and open to the public

In honor of Portsmouth’s 400th year anniversary, 3S Artspace held an open call for submissions by artists living or working in Portsmouth today. There was no shortage of talent and creativity. We invite you to join us as we celebrate the extraordinary artists selected to exhibit in the Lobby Gallery in 2023. All exhibited works are available for purchase, with revenue supporting both the artists and 3S.

Artist Statement
I wasn’t supposed to be an artist. Or maybe I wasn’t supposed to be an engineer. Actually, they might not be that different. In either case, have certainly spent the majority of my life solving problems; understanding constraints, key elements of a design, communication, efficiency. My art explores the problem of expressing a subject comprised of infinite variance into the simplest language of shape, value and edges. I find beauty in efficiency and strive to communicate as much as information in my art as possible without over-explaining my subject through unnecessary brush strokes or marks.

Eric MacDonald Bio
Born and raised in NH, I attended college at UNH majoring in Electrical Engineering, married my wife and raised our family in Exeter, NH. About 5 years ago, we downsized and moved to Portsmouth.

I always had an interest in art, buying my first original artwork (a watercolor) at the age of 17 from a street artist in New Orleans. About 20 years ago, I decided I wanted to learn how to paint, so I called up Doris Rice in Hampton and asked if she could spend an hour with me to teach me the very basics of watercolor. It was that hour with Doris that kicked off my passion for creating art.

Over the next 16 years, I dabbled in watercolor – attending workshops, knocking off a painting once in a while. The more I learned, the more I realized I didn’t know. And I found that any amount of paint won’t fix a bad drawing. I pivoted to drawing, almost exclusively, in strengthen my basic skills of proportion and composition.

3 years ago, I committed to painting full-time. I work almost exclusively in oil, but I do work in charcoal a little and occasionally I break open the watercolors! I’m inspired by the beauty of the Seacoast of NH – the landscapes, the architecture, the energy. I strive to communicate as much in my paintings with as few brushstrokes as possible. I look at a good painting as more of a poem than an essay-- brief and hopefully, moving.

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Generously supported by:

3S Artspace is supported in part by a grant from the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.