“I work in painterly abstraction and wrestle with reconciling anxiety and comfort in daily life to make the everyday and the poetic come alive.” –Eldon Underhill

Eldon Underhill was born in 1954 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, though he has spent most of his life on the west coast in both rural and urban spaces in BC. He currently resides in Halfmoon Bay on the Sunshine Coast with his partner.

In the 1970s, he studied art at the Kootenay School of Art and the Vancouver School of Art (now Emily Carr University) and was influenced by the art scene of the time and the artists who he studied under, including Ron Stonier, Geoff Rees and Gary Bowden. Ron Stonier proved to be exponentially influential as Eldon expanded his studies to include painting. Eldon continued his studies in the 1980s at UBC, studying in the Art History and the MFA programs to complement his ongoing studio practice.

A well-rounded art maker, Eldon is skilled in multiple art disciplines. Currently, his practice includes abstract painting, collage/assemblage, and digital artworks. Eldon often uses his own photography as a point of departure for exploring compositional elements and juxtapositions that reflect his interest in the human condition. By starting with the representational in his photography, he develops the form, essence, and emotional intensity within his art by abstracting and creating a drama within the piece. These abstract formations are vibrant, strong, challenging and sometimes dark and dreamlike, reflecting his perspective on human nature.