Eileen Eder

Eileen Frailey Eder, a resident of Connecticut, is a contemporary realist painter who works almost exclusively from life. Her harmonious paintings show her affection for light and shadow as well as color and form both in nature and still life objects. Eileen often drew and painted throughout her teenage and early adult years. After raising a family she attended the New York Academy of Art, graduating with an MFA degree in 1998.  Following grad school, Eileen began her full time professional career painting and teaching, being grateful to enjoy the challenge, joy, and fulfillment of painting ever since.

Eileen worked primarily with the figure after leaving grad school but an injury put her in a wheel chair for a few months during which she painted still life at home. She found the genre to be fun, enjoying the graphic design challenge as well as color and reflections in her set ups. Eileen completed a series of over 30 still lives for her first solo show at the George Billis Gallery in NY in 2006. Still Life dominated Eileen’s painting for the next 10 years but the desire to work in nature started another love, plein air painting. After taking workshops with a number of influential teachers including T. Allen Lawson, Don Demers and Israel Hershberg and spending many hours 'on site', Eileen began to get accepted to plein air festivals and win awards for her landscapes. Eileen continues to compete in national and local shows and has been a frequent award winner for both still life and landscape paintings.

Eileen considers New England as the perfect location for her triple life, working on still life in the studio in nasty weather, moving outdoors for plein air painting once the weather warms, and always sharing her knowledge with all her many beloved students.