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Eric Wiegardt’s “Columbia Pause”
COURTESY WIEGARDT STUDIO GALLERY
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ERIC WIEGARDT: PAINTING WITHOUT A NET
By DAVID CAMPICHE
FOR COAST WEEKEND
E
ric Wiegardt must be
deemed “local.”
Born in Ilwaco, Wash-
ington, and sometimes referred
to as native, he possesses no
more Native ancestry than your
average Joe. But like many
indigenous people, his persona
seems shaped by the bay,
rivers and white crystalline
sands of the Long Beach
Peninsula.
He comes from a family
O
PH OT
ICH E
of
oystermen. Like his fa-
P
M
A
C
DAV ID
ter
ther
before him, he retains
n
i
a
p
t,
iegard
a love of those tidal wa-
Eric W
ters — of the arteries and waterways
that pulse through Willapa Bay, a
four-times-per-day perpetual time
clock.
Leonardo da Vinci drew com-
parisons to the ebb and flow of tidal
waters to the veins and arteries of
the human body. Not to pigeonhole
Wiegardt with such a philosophy,
but one can certainly perceive a
symbiotic relationship or parallel to
the pantheistic love of nature exhib-
ited by the 15th-century master.
A strong Christian — “through
my Christian walk, I deeply felt that
painting was what God designed
me to do,” he said — Wiegardt’s
affection for Willapa Bay remains
deep and abiding.
Another comparison to Leonardo
is obvious: Wiegardt, too, is a fine
painter. A very fine painter. Forfeit-
ing six years of engineering training
in Chicago (Lake Michigan didn’t
begin to match the Pacific Ocean),
Wiegardt headed back to school —
this time, art school at the American
Academy of Art in that same Windy
City, training under master and
mentor Irving Shapiro. Always, he
is encouraged and supported by his
wife and partner. Ann has inspired
the painter for decades.
Wiegardt is sensitive and atten-
tive. Study his hands and fingers.
They are, at once, strong but del-
icate. When he grips a watercolor
brush, and wields it so effortlessly,
some form of creative energy seems
to fly around his studio like angel
dust. His dedication to attention
reaches out nimbly. Curiosity and
challenge guide his sense of explo-
ration.
A painter’s finesse
Painters are often identified by
their deft brushstrokes. Joy is watch-
ing Wiegardt handle a paintbrush,
watching him lay down paint as if
his fingers possess all the dexterity
of a Renaissance master.
The artists of the High Renais-
sance are known for a painting style
that was exacting, nearly perfect
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