Places Have Meaning by Eric Twait
Born from one artist's journey through love and loss, this workshop is an invitation to discover what has been waiting to be expressed within you.
Through thoughtful prompts and an intuitive painting process, you'll be encouraged to create from the truth of the present moment. Rather than painting what you see, you'll paint what you feel from the chapter you are living in now.
If your life were an unfolding autobiography, what would this chapter depict? What would you want it to say about you?
Beginners welcome. No painting experience is necessary for this class led by the current exhibiting artist.
Ages: 18+ | Price: $26 | Seats: 12
ERIC TWAIT
Eric Twait grew up on a farm in Iowa, spending long stretches of time alone, making things — drawing, building, tinkering — long before he understood that art would become a necessity rather than a choice. For years his work was quiet: landscapes, places he'd been, paintings that were really just a way of paying attention and staying grounded.
In 2023, his wife Maria was diagnosed with cancer. He moved into survival mode — caregiving, holding on to every moment, his studio gathering dust. On Christmas Eve, she died. When he returned to the easel, his art took a sudden turn inward.
What came out was words — handwritten, layered, rewritten, some staying legible, others dissolving into color and texture. Lyrics overheard from the stereo while he worked became something closer to letters: to her, to himself, to the silence she left behind. That body of work became Letters to the Void — paintings that don't try to resolve grief or make it understandable, but instead function as records of staying with what hurts long enough to let it change shape.
The series has continued to evolve since — opening from grief into doubt, hope, balance, and love. Eric now splits his time between these text-based abstracts and painterly landscapes of Minnesota lakes, national parks, and beyond. He lives and works in the Brainerd/Baxter area and is sharing his art around Minnesota this year, including this exhibition at Warroad Riverplace.