Handicapped painter reflects his life in his art

KEY WEST, Fla. — Austin native and artist Eric Anfinson has released a comprehensive book of his original oil paintings titled “Along the Edges of Beauty.”

‘’My journey places me on paved streets and sidewalks, to love what lies just out of reach. It is here, with you, along the edges of beauty, I feel complete,” Eric Anfinson said about the 264-page full-color book that launched on Dec. 10 in Key West, Fla.

“Along the Edges of Beauty” features work from 2004 to 2011.

Anfinson was paralyzed in a 1985 Austin Packers football game against Mason City, Iowa. Anfinson now paints professionally from his studio in Key West.

You can see a few of Anfinson’s paintings in Austin. The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota-Mayo Clinic cancer research center commissioned Anfinson to create the painting “Sunflower Girl” for their boardroom.

Another painting, “The Red Balloon” hangs in the lobby of The Arc of Mower County. The book includes the large painting “Home Town,” which is filled with Austin landmarks.

The book’s cover, which features a painting called “Arrival in Paris,” is a stunning display of symbolism.

It depicts a path which defines Anfinson’s point of view.  The image is dominated by a broken statue of Michelangelos’ “David” — a symbol, of physical limitations — that is being reclaimed by vines.

For Anfinson, nature’s reclamation of the broken statue in the painting reversely describes the effect that art has on his life.

In an interview from the book, Anfinson describes his deliberate use of symbolism and the meanings behind some of the images that appear repeatedly in his works.

The book, which consists mostly of images, is a story that for the first time, provides an objective look at Anfinson’s overall body of work. It offers a space to stop, look, and reflect.

“Along the Edges of Beauty” is available for purchase on Amazon.