Lina Redford

A meeting between a painter, a model and the photographer… Extensive, both in time and scope; ThePainters Project is an ongoing collection of collaborations with painters to whom Eric offers as a canvas some of the very best models he has enjoyed working with during his career. For a number of these artists the project offers them a step in the dark, an escape into unknown territory. They must settle into a new environment with unfamiliar light, unusual shadows and highlights and a canvas that is not only three dimensional but alive, breathing and sentient. Movements and poses influence their strokes, they must discover, adapt and ultimately tame this canvas with their brush. Together, the body and the art become one to achieve the sublime. To blend the often distinct viewpoints of different disciplines and work together; to mix various instruments, tools and angles is an uncommon, yet extremely rewarding and exciting approach, but also contrary to the eternal solitude of the artist, a commonly echoed mantra in the art sphere. This unorthodox partnership gives birth to wonderful and often surprising creations. Magic succeeds when the ephemeral and volatile nature of paint on the human skin is forever captured through the lens and immortalised onto the image. More than hundred meetings have already taken place with artists from the UK, Uruguay, Mauritius, Belgium, The Netherlands, Spain, Italy, France, Switzerland, the US, China, Venezuela, Russia and many other countries all across the globe.