the art of erik custer

My mission as an artist is to boldly go into areas unexplored and find my place in this world. Exploration means being unafraid of new things, and I try to always keep that in mind as I work in various mediums. I love to adopt unfamiliar techniques and styles as I explore ideas and visually represent moments in life. This journey has allowed me to embrace a philosophy of “whatever happens happens” and not be afraid of failure.

I am a visual artist working in Central Virginia. While primarily a painter, I enjoy working in other mediums and can be found experimenting with techniques. I first developed my love for art by watching Star Wars. As a young child, I could never articulate my fascination with the visuals presented in the series of movies, but I understood that someone had created everything from their imagination. As I’ve grown older, my love for concept art has continued to grow. And while I do not create concept art, the roots of my artistic imagination are there.

Bob Ross sparked my interest in painting. I watched him for many years before getting my first set of paints. However, my love for science fiction and my emerging interest in surrealism by Salvador Dali pushed me away from the traditional landscape painting of Ross.

The focus of this site has been very consistent over the last ten years. The layout has changed quite a lot, but the basic idea of presenting art has always been the same. With this version of the site being updated for 2020 - 2021, I wanted to pursue a different concept on the presentation of my art.

Instead of featuring a lot of art that can be found on various social media, I wanted to focus on showcasing more of my favorite work and explaining how that work was created, what it inspired it. If you are interested in following me in real time, check out the links for my social media:

Instagram (click here)


Redbubble (click here)