Opossum's Oatmeal Stout, 2021

Will Eskridge  

You were the last picked in the school yard. They called you weird and different. You were ignored and never invited to the big parties. They called you ugly. You were kicked to the curb like yesterday's garbage. The sting of being left out can last a lifetime. 

But you embraced your uniqueness. Wearing it like a badge of honor. Eventually you found others that appreciated you for who you are and not what society demanded. Not what the popular kids dictated. And all of you threw your own party.

These works are a celebration of the outcasts. Bats, snakes, raccoons, and others are presented in humorous settings that gently lift the fear and stigma imposed on them. Bright and bold colors over lay to share the gamut of positive energy flowing. The subjects are loosely depicted in a painterly approach to represent the vigor of these unique creatures and their persistence to survive. For these animals are vital to the world.

Education:

B.F.A. - San Francisco Art Institute
College - School of Visual Arts/Savannah
High School - University of North Carolina School of the Arts

Exhibitions:

Selected Solo Exhibitions
• August 2018 – Primal Dreams, Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment, Huntsville, AL
• October 2017 –Primal Dreams, Clarke-County Library, Athens, GA
• September 2017 – Universal Secrets, Hendershot's, Athens, GA
• August – September 2016 – Deep Blue Waves, The World Famous, Athens, GA
• July – September 2016 – Universal Secrets, Ken Huber Art, Holland, MI
• June 2015 – Environmental Habits, The Grit, Athens, GA
• March 2015 – Wolf City, Annual Bulldog Inn Art Show, Athens, GA
• January/February 2015 – Prairie and River, Heirloom, Athens, GA
• November 2014 – 9×12, (two person show with Nick Madden), The 9 Ace Gallery, Atlanta, GA
• June/July 2014 – Animal/Domain, The World Famous, Athens, GA
• July/August 2012 – Untitled, Heirloom Cafe, Athens, GA
• March 2010 – Constructive Chromosomes, Flicker Theatre, Athens, GA
• May/June 2009 –Untitled, Chateau Elan Winery, Brasselton, GA
• January 2009 – Untitled, Electric Mustache Gallery, Winston-Salem, NC
• November 2008 –Deliberate Acts of Randomness", (two person Show with Jillian Guarco), Flicker, Athens, GA
• January/February 2008 – 50 Faces, Clayton St. Gallery, Athens, GA
• September 2007 – Contemporary Portraits, Five Star Day, Athens, GA
• August 2007 – Friends and Phantoms, Contemporary Arts Exchange, Macon, GA
• April 2007 – Portraits of a New South, Flicker Theatre, Athens, GA
• October – December 2003, Love, Leaving and Thieving, Synergy Studios, Shelby, NC
• August 2000 – Weird Calm, Cleveland County Arts Council, Shelby, NC
• February 1999 – The Valiant Few, Gallery Dodgé, San Francisco, CA
• October 1998 – House Painting, Pete's Cafe, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA

Selected Group Exhibitions
• May – October 2015 – Peaceable Kingdom, Gallery I, The Classic Center, Athens, GA
• May – October 2015 – Flight, Gallery II, The Classic Center, Athens, GA
• February 2015 – Love in All It's Forms, The Artist Shop, Athens, GA
• December 2014 – 9th Annual Postcard Pinup Show, MINT Gallery, Atlanta, GA
• May 2014 – 2nd Annual Mystery Triennial, ATHICA, Athens, GA
• June 2013 – ATHICARDS, ATHICA, Athens, GA
• December 2011 – OCCUPY, ATHICA, Athens, GA
• September-October 2011 – Mystery Selections, ATHICA, Athens, GA
• October 2010 – Paper-azzi, Bottega Gallery, Wilmington, NC
• July 2010 – Hampton Gallery Local Artists Juried Exhibition, Hampton Gallery, Greensboro, GA
• March 2010 – Cycle Through, Youngblood Gallery, Atlanta, GA
• August 2009 – Hampton Gallery Local Artists Juried Exhibition, Hampton Gallery, Greensboro, GA
• August 2008 – ConTEXTualized, juried exhibition, Gallery RFD, Swainsboro, GA
• February 2008 – 33rd Juried Arts Exhibition, Lyndon House Arts Center, Athens, GA
• November 2007 – Potraiture and Presence, juried exhibition, Gallery RFD, Swainsboro, GA
• August 2007 – A Collection of Work by a Collection of Friends (curated by Kevin Taylor), Youngblood Gallery, Atlanta, GA
• December 2006 – New Year's Revolution II: Group Thought, Storehouse 10, Charleston, SC
• January 2002 – Painting II, juried exhibition, Period Gallery, Omaha, NE
• May 2001 – The Missing World, Piccolo Spoleto Festival, juried exhibition, Charleston, SC
• February 1998 – Hardcopy, City Picture Frame, San Francisco, CA

Artistic Influences:

Edward Hopper, Vincent Van Gogh, Cy Twombly, Paula Modersohn-Becker, Carl Rungius, Fairfield Porter