Visual arts & new media

To honour the memory of Eric Cameron and his invaluable contributions to the visual arts, we present his artwork, Thick Painting: Edwin’s Egg (1979 – 2006), which is part of the Collection of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts. This artwork is one of three pieces created for Cameron’s three children and was made with 5,212 coats of paint.

Eric passed away on January 29, 2026 in Didsbury, Alberta at the age of 90.

About the Artist

A leading figure in contemporary art, Eric Cameron shaped future generations of artists through his work as a conceptual artist, painter, video artist, educator, and mentor.

Born in Leicester, England, he moved to Canada in 1969 where he taught at the University of Guelph and the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. From 1987 to 2020, he was a professor within the University of Calgary’s Art Department.

Cameron was known for “Thick Paintings,” which involve the method of applying thousands of layers of gesso to images or everyday objects, at times continuing to build on the work until a gallery or collector acquired it. This meant that the artworks were laboriously worked on for months and eventually years and even decades. As he continued to add more coats of gesso, the Thick Paintings got to be transformed in ways that took him by surprise.