Eric was born and raised in southern California, and like his first art hero, Rick Griffin, was immersed in the cultures of Christianity, surf and rock n’ roll.  His early childhood was corrupted by Dr. Demento, Monte Python and Mad magazine; the latter, along with the violent and crazed cartoons of Warner Brothers and Bob Clampett,  planted the seeds of Eric’s desire to become first an animator, then a comic book artist – both short-lived endeavors.

However, after graduating high school Eric found artistic employment working in a T-shirt printing shop and airbrushing surfboards for a couple of manufacturers in the Orange County area. After that, his education was in graphic design, working for an advertising agency and marketing group and eventually going freelance at 23 years of age. Moving to the Portland, Oregon area, where the creative community was more tightly knit, Eric landed a position at an illustration studio called "Art Farm," and it was there that his education really took off as he learned over the shoulders of established artists in a variety of traditional media.

Since then, Eric has been illustrating and painting full time in both the commercial and fine art markets. His clientele includes Time-Life Entertainment, Nike, Nabisco, Kellogg's, Coppertone, Hallmark and GTE. His work can be found on the covers of numerous books, music CD's and popular periodicals, including two recent covers of Time magazine. His paintings also reside in many private and corporate collections, including the offices of Major League Baseball and the NBA.

Eric has won numerous awards for his work over the years, including three awards from Spectrum: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art, where his work can be seen in volumes 3, 4, and 6 -15. His commercial work is represented by www.shannonassociates.com