Television and Radio appearances
"Montreal artist combines love of music and painting"
By Pam Fleming NOVI NEWS, June 16,2005
COMMUNITY SOUNDS INSPIRE HIM TO CREATE ORIGINAL WORK ON STAGE
Artist Eric Waugh of Montreal moves to the music - but not just his body, but his paintbrush, as he creates original paintings to live music.
Waugh will be one of the featured artists at the 10th Annual Novi Arts Festival this weekend at Novi Town Center at Grand River Avenue and Novi Road.
On Saturday, June 18, and Sunday, June 19. The parking lots of Novi Town Center will be transformed into an outdoor art gallery for the festival, where nearly 100 of the nation's finest artists will showcase their creations.
While attendees stroll from booth to booth, enjoying the soothing sounds of musicians playing the flute, sitar and dulcimer, Waugh will create works of art. A native and resident of Montreal, Waugh is one of the world's largest selling artists of original art, with more than 27,000 pieces sold during his career. He has painted to the music of some famous people - Tony Bennett, the Doobie Brothers, Nelly Furtado, John Waite, The Wallflowers and more.
Waugh started playing guitar when he was 11 years old and loved it. He was in a band until he was 21 with his brother, who played drums, and a friend up the street, who played bass. They wrote all of their own music, recorded and traveled to local clubs and bars. "It was a hard grind. I spent all of my teenage years in my basement," he joked. He later became interested in graphic arts and product design and steered away completely from music, even selling all of his music equipment except for an acoustic guitar. His wife, Dini, however, bought him an electric guitar for his 40th birthday a couple of years ago. Now, his 14-year-old son, Alex, has adopted his guitar.
While at a gallery art show in Atlanta, Waugh met publicist Jim Carter, who steered him into this creative art form. "I just thought it was the best thing - combining music and painting," he said. Waugh finds painting to music rewarding, plus he donates a portion of the proceeds from his work to various charities, donating more than $400,000 to date to such organizations as the American Cancer Society; Camp Heartland, a summer camp, north of Minneapolis for kids with HIV and AIDS; and the Starlight Children's Foundation. He even created the Guinness Book of World Records' largest painting, titled "HERO", benefiting these last two children's charities.
Waugh said the music motivates him to paint. "I don't have to have a band playing to be inspired by the music," The 10th Annual Novi National Arts Festival is a juried show, which means each artist was hand-selected from hundreds of applicants to ensure a first- class festival with only the highest quality, original artwork. All work on display is available for purchase, with prices ranging from $15 earrings to $50 prints to $20,000 sculptures.
