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Folk art Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative art, decorative. The makers of folk art a ...

ist , years_active = , era = , employer = , organization = , agent = , known_for = , notable_works = , style = , height = , television = , title = , term = , predecessor = , successor = , party = , otherparty = , movement = , opponents = , boards = , criminal_charges = , criminal_penalty = , criminal_status = , spouse = , partner = , children = , parents = , mother = , father = , relatives = , family = , callsign = , awards = , website = , module = , module2 = , module3 = , module4 = , module5 = , module6 = , signature = , signature_size = , signature_alt = , footnotes = Eric Dowdle is an American painter and creator of

folk art Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative art, decorative. The makers of folk art a ...

. He is the founder of Dowdle Folk Art where he turns his paintings into puzzles, selling more than 30 million puzzles based on 400 pieces of his artwork. He has hosted television and radio programs on the topic and won numerous awards for his work.

Early life and education

Dowdle was born in 1968 and is the 10th of 12 siblings. He grew up in

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

and

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

and attended Green River High School, moving to

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

upon graduation. He attributes his experience of growing up on a farm to details he uses in his art. In high school, he won numerous awards for his paintings, including 16 awards at the Wyoming State Art Symposium.

Career

Dowdle became familiar with the folk art of Charles Wysocki after moving to Massachusetts. After moving to Utah he began his career in painting by going door to door offering to do paintings of peoples homes. He became known for his paintings of cities and local landmarks and in the 1990s was commissioned to paint eight original works depicting

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...

. In the late 1990s, Dowdle turned some of his paintings into puzzles. He began selling the puzzles through Dowdle Folk Art and has since sold more than 30 million puzzles based on more than 400 pieces of his artwork. Dowdle partnered with

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

in 2019 and created 13 original works based on Disney Classics. Outside of painting, he hosted the radio program ''Traveling with Eric Dowdle'' which evolved into three season of a television program titled ''Painting the Town with Eric Dowdle.'' He also started the Utah PTA Art Endowment to raise funds for art programs throughout Utah. In 2024, he put his painting of

Butte In geomorphology, a butte ( ) is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and table (landform), tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from the French l ...

on sale. The portrait was converted to puzzles; 15,000 pieces were made available for sale.

References

External links

Dowdle Folk Art
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dowdle, Eric 1968 births Living people American artists 20th-century American painters Artists from Idaho 21st-century American painters Painters from Idaho