Hamptons’ Artist Eric Fischl: “Bad Boy: My Life On And Off The Canvas”

“Bad Boy: My Life On and Off the Canvas”, by Eric Fischl and Michael Stone takes an in depth look at the life of America’s foremost narrative painter Eric Fischl. The book follows the story of Fischl’s alcohol and drug infused world of art in the 80’s beginning with stories of his childhood, which was filled with a violent alcoholic mother and frightening home life. Fischl was able to turn his turbulent young life experiences into inspiration for his paintings.

By the time Fischl was in his thirties he was considered the “it” artist of his decade. His canvases were being sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars and it seemed everyone wanted a piece of the artist. With the large amounts of money coming in, came the glamorous celebrity life, which happened to be filled with alcohol and drugs. The book opens with the story of the night that changed his life. After being extremely intoxicated and high on drugs on what could have been the most important night of his life to date, Fischl was forced to take a long hard look in the mirror and see who he had become. After the life altering night he vowed to never drink or do drugs again and has kept that promise to himself to this day.

In “Bad Boy: My Life On and Off the Canvas” Fischl opens up about not only the triumphs of his career but also the trials and tribulations that ultimately led him to where he is now. He describes his present life best when writing, “If there’s been any theme uniting the stages of my life and my art, it’s been that theme of redemption- the recovery of openness, intimacy, and trust. These days, my work is more about making connections. My art and life seem to be converging. The line between them, always blurry, is disappearing”.

You can purchase “Bad Boy: My Life On and Off the Canvas” beginning on May 7 and Fischl will hitting the Hamptons for booking talk and signings on Saturday, June 15 at 4 p.m. at the Westhampton Library (7 Library Avenue, 631-288-3335), Saturday, June 22 at 7 p.m. at Bookhampton (16 Hampton Road, Southampton, 631-283-0270), Wednesday, June 26 at 7 p.m. at Guild Hall (158 Main Street, East Hampton, 631-324-0806) and Friday, August 2 at 5 p.m. at the Hampton Library (2478 Main Street, Bridgehampton, 631-537-0015).