As a follow-up to the revolving art show at Harry's Roadhouse in Asbury Park, I visited with August’s featured artist, Eric Styles. Eric had the privilege of having a one-man show for four weeks at Harry's gallery space.
  I had the pleasure of sitting down and speaking with Eric on Sunday, August 17th. Mr. Styles is a Jersey Shore boy through and through and proud of it. He was raised in Point Pleasant and still resides there. He works for a sign company in Deal, which is where he gets most of his material and supplies for his paintings and sculptures.
  Mr. Styles has not had any formal art training. He has had editorial cartoons published in newspapers like the Leader in Point Pleasant and the Observer and Reporter in Toms River. He has also done art work for the organization Hands Across New Jersey and for peace activists during Operation Desert Storm.

Some of Styles’ art work

  Mentioning his past work helps give light to Eric's style, which is highly animated and uses materials inventively. What I seem to find most common is the idea of "art imitating life" (or is it "life imitating art"?) Eric is a character himself, as animated and alive as his work. As I mentioned before Eric has no formal training but yet he has all the ingredients of a true artist. I just don't know if he knows it yet or how to utilize his abilities.
  I spoke to him about inspiration and where it comes from. He first mentioned Ralph Steadman, the illustrator most notable for his work with the literary genius Hunter S. Thompson. Then Eric goes on to say that the mentally disturbed, highly intelligent work of Thompson himself is an inspiration. John Belushi is another of Eric Styles' muses.
  You may notice that these men are all public figures with distinctive personalities that involve drugs, women and illegal behavior, but yet have enough charm and intellect in their crafts to be well respected and liked.
 (continued on page 11)