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About Earth Solutions artist Eric Legge
A visitor’s first impression after entering the garage that serves as Eric Legge’s “studio” in Dillard is likely to be awe.
The sheer diversity of Legge’s art is astonishing, both in terms of medium and subject matter. Plywood, canvas, cardboard, sheet tin, wooden doors, glass, carved oak panels, barn siding and “assemblage” pieces composed of bottle caps, garden hose and pieces of machinery are everywhere. The number of pieces that either hang on the walls, lean against one another in corners or are stacked on the floor is staggering. Benign, oval-faced angels smile from lofty heights flanked by bearded Christ figures, solitary birds, potted flowers, happy dogs, musicians and scrap-metal effigies.
Certainly, the setting is not that of a conventional studio. Eric’s good-natured dogs amble about the room, and music — a blend of jazz, country and rock — issues from a variety of sources, including ancient 78 rpm turntables and CD players. Eric, a genial, soft-spoken young man (with a funky hat) of about 32 has a pleasant north-Georgia twang. Acting as guide and interpreter, he responds easily to questions as he wanders through the clutter of his art.
What is all of this about, Eric? He responds with quiet, characteristic vagueness.
“Freedom and joy,” he shrugs and smiles. “Maybe wonder.”
Do you consider yourself an outsider artist?
“Well, that’s one of them labels, you know. I’m not real interested in categories or titles. I don’t ever put a title on a painting because a title seems to limit it somehow. Sometimes, when people look at a painting, they see something that I didn’t even know was there. I like that. If I put a label on it, they might not see their version.”
Eric tells me that he often makes a pot of coffee and paints all night. When the ideas come easily, he feels compelled to do so. I asked him about his inspiration. “Well, it starts in the heart,” he says. “The mind perceives it and the hand gives it shape. I think of it as a trinity, you know – Heart, Mind and Hand.”
I ask if there was a particular experience in his life that had made him decide to become an artist.
“Well, I paid my way through college at Valdosta State University by working in a Developmental Center for the mentally handicapped. I worked each day with people who were classified as profoundly and severely handicapped. I guess that experience gave me an awareness of how fortunate I am. Being able to think, see and comprehend the world around you — that is a wonderful gift. I guess I decided that painting and creating art is the best way to use that gift.”
But, you do want to sell your paintings, don’t you?
“Oh, yes! But I look at it in reverse, I guess. I don’t paint to sell. I sell so that I can paint .”
[During the interview by Gary Carden, Joe Legge had the following comment about his son Eric:]
“I thought he would end up as a doctor or lawyer. He got two degrees: one in philosophy and one in anthropology, but no, painting is what he wanted to do more than anything else. During the Atlanta Olympics, he was one of an honored few Georgia folk artists that were approved to sell their paintings on the street. He began attracting attention then. He has been asked to submit works to some major folk art competitions and has some impressive awards. He doesn’t talk about that.”
Long after my visit with Eric and Joe Legge, one image stayed with me. Joe had told me about living for 10 years in a barn and showed me photographs and paintings of the place. At one point, he showed me a picture of a 6-year-old Eric working on a huge painting. It is a marvelous image of a child sitting in the middle of a painting and surrounded by vivid swirls of color. The boy is totally absorbed in what he is doing — unaware of the world outside of his own creation. It seems to define the world of both father and son.
By Gary Carden
Smokey Mountain News
Contact: Eric Legge
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