My Short Biography

Eric J. Allen

Personal Portfolio

I'm not one thing at the exclusion of another.  In fact, I wear many hats.  By day, I'm a straight-forward successful plaintiff's attorney in Houston, Texas.  At night, time permitting, I'm an artist who swims in an abstract sea.  While the two pursuits may seem dichotomous, I believe they balance and benefit one another.    

2022 - No longer chasing the ribbons or the galleries.  There is tremendous delight when friends and even random strangers express a cathartic response after merely looking at one of my paintographs.  It is moving.  While it is true that I have sold a number of works and won a number of art guild awards, the most satisfying response to my work is when people express a desire to have that art in their home.  The artist in me lives for this moment.  

2017 - The Year I DISCOVERED A SECRET AS WELL AS WHEN i FOUND MY ARTISTIC STRIDE: In 2017, my artistic endeavors were scattered: pyrography, colored pencil realism, pastels, and yes, producing enamel abstract paintings on large canvases. These paintings were my favorite endeavor.  They depicted emotions, struggles, and triumphs.  I loved the vibrant colors of the enamel paint, but knew that the flat swirl-style appearance of these paintings would never speak to anyone at the level I was attempting to communicate. 

I wanted to make the viewer feel the depth of what I was expressing. For this reason, I started making the paintings thicker and thicker and thicker - literally trying to show depth. Then, one day, I happened upon a Bob Ross-style happy accident when I added emulsifier to what was an otherwise thick enamel mess. I was mesmerized by what followed - a chemical reaction.

The painting started breathing and convulsing. I grabbed my camera and went nuts taking photos. From there, through much trial and error, I've learned how to control the reaction as well as the paint. This has led to my "paintographs." The actual physical painting is eventually devoured and crystalized following the chemical reaction process so trust me, no one wants to see that congealed mess. What is desirable, arguably, is the final photograph printed under acrylic.