Every artist's story begins with an internal desire, constructed of two elements: one of passion and one of purpose. For Erik-Hombre Vurmaz-Gudowski, also known as HombretheArtist, that explosion came early, growing up in Salem, New Hampshire, a small town perfectly placed in the center of New England. Inspired by science & mathematics, Mother Nature, Libraries, Marvel & DC comic books - and supported by family, friends, and art teachers.
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Erik-Hombre found emotional peace, escape, and solace through creating art. A state of being that would, later in life, mature into a calming state of zen - silencing his inner struggles by balancing his equally logical left and creative right-sided brain. His curiosity is relentless in seeking to see the forest for the trees and the single tree in the forest. Understanding the big picture and the detail is how HombretheArtist sees the world.

"Sometimes, images of my third eye explode into desire – screaming to be free." -HombretheArtist

‍The earliest memory of his journey came from the high-contrast black-and-white outlines from coloring books to still-life drawings of his toys in pencil, crayons, and markers. Moving into his teenage years, Todd McFarlane, Albrecht Durer, Alphonse Mucha, Albert Bierstadt, and the master drawings of the Renaissance exploded his creative universe.  Lesley University College of Art and Design (formally, The Art Institute of Boston) served him well in developing Erik's underdrawings – the gesture or souls of art and the artist's overall creative approach. This formative period set the foundation for a lifelong pursuit of creativity.

HombretheArtist's path is an obsession with learning and discovery — a neverending story that goes into the creator process, focusing on black-and-white art. Moving to New York City injected life into his quest to balance and harness the uncontrollable. Embracing his love for ancient East Asian culture and the technique of sumie, the influence of Zen and meditation washes onto his canvas. Erik expresses his spirit's voice through gestures of black and white strokes, both gentle and powerful. A tribute to and made possible by his beautiful and talented sensei, Koho Yammamoto.

"Be Like Water" - Bruce Lee

In sumie, the balance of varying ink densities is achieved by mixing the black ink with water to create different shades of gray called "nortan" – roughly translated, "dark and light". For HombretheArtist it is the purest translation of the harmony and depth of his mind's eye. With the Four Treasures (Brush, Ink Stick, Inkstone, and Paper) and the Four Gentlemen (Bamboo, Cherry Blossom, Chrysanthemum, and Pine Tree), he studies sumie as a way of life.