David Eger

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he showcases his plein air watercolor impressionist paintings, David Eger has found an edge. A working cinematographer and photographer, David has always taken an interest in art, and began painting seriously in 2014.

Growing up he always connected with things on a visual level preferring sidewalk chalk to wiffle ball and the dark room in high school was a frequent hideout. Later, he headed to Columbia College in Chicago where he studied film, specifically cinematography and photography. While in college, he would ink and paint the many animation cells of friends who were taking traditional cell animation classes.

After graduating with his BA in film, he moved back to Pittsburgh in 1995 where—after a short tenure at a photo lab—he began working for an advertising and marketing agency and he shot and edited numerous corporate and industrial videos for clients from all over the globe. As it turned out, one of the Agency’s main clients was an art gallery and David was responsible for creating short documentaries on the artists (one being Plein Air Impressionalist, John Modesitt) for the Gallery’s website.

David was already familiar with this style of painting but once he discovered the works of artist like Dan Marshall, Kieko Tanabe, and the charismatic Alvaro Castagnet, he realized that Plein Air Watercolor was something he wanted to try. Armed with some cheap camel hair brushes and the internet he began the process of trying to figure it all out. He quickly graduated to better materials and tools and after about a year of painting in his studio (the kitchen) he decided to take it outside. On a warm June day in 2015, armed with a second hand french easel that would randomly collapse, he created his first Plein Air piece and from that moment he was hooked.