Though his training has been informal and unconventional, now at age 32 he’s had more than 20 years experience. “I never went to art school, but I have been fortunate to work with and learn from both fine and commercial artists who helped hone my skills. It’s a very long tradition in the art world: talent may be inherent but the skills and techniques are often passed down from artist to artist through the generations.”

Eric’s training began at the knee of his grandmother, a well-respected painter in Southern California. When he visited her as a child she kept him busy by teaching him to paint. “It was this early exposure that first got me interested in painting and made me realize that it could become my life’s work,” Rider says. “My jobs, starting as a kid, have been all art related: first as a picture framer, illustrating T-shirts, working in an art foundry, and, finally, as an art director in California’s Silicon Valley.”

His work is strongly influenced by pop culture, he says: “…by the way it is and the way I think it should be.” The old live action comic type shows of the 60’s and 70’s (like Batman and Sid & Marty Kroft) have been a special influence. “I like the way they took the fantasy of cartoons and made it real.” He also is fascinated by the California pop artists of the 60’s such as Robert Arneson and Wayne Thiebaud, who have brought their special brand of humor and reality to art.

In addition, Eric has been influenced by some of the creative leaders of American advertising. “They have created ad campaigns that communicated with great subtlety and impact. One of the most important was William Bernbach, a founding partner of Doyle Dane Bernbach. “He succeeded in changing advertising and pop culture forever with campaigns for companies like Volkswagon and Polaroid both of which were having ‘image’ problems in the United States. He motivated Americans to buy VW’s and Polaroid cameras, by making these products ‘cool’.”