Eric J. Heywood began a love for art at a young age, continuing throughout his gradeschool years to earn him numerous local awards and scholarships opportunities.  Shortly after starting the art program at Snow College in Utah, Eric was married, and out of fear of providing for his budding family he pursued another dream and entered Law Enforcement.  Eric worked in this capacity for 11 years, serving with distinction as a decorated officer in a variety of positions with multiple agencies.  Throughout this time Eric's passion for art never wavered, and he painted prolifically in his private studio and out en plein air.  After over a decade in his Law Enforcement career, Eric and his wife decided to make a life change.  Eric returned to school to finish his Associate of Arts degree, and attended evening and workshop courses on Oil Painting, Portraiture, and Figure Drawing in local studio art academies.  The following Spring after acceptance into the Florence Academy of Art, Eric and his wife sold their home, their vehicles, and most of their belongings, and moved with their three little children to Italy.  

  In Italy Eric began his studies in the Intensive Drawing Program at the Florence Academy of Art, under instructors Simona Dolci, Richard Greathouse, and Simone Olivia-Moritz.  Here Eric had the opportunity to study Bargue Drawing, anatomy, oil painting materials, composition, and over 20 hours a week drawing from the nude model.  In the evenings Eric attended additional courses drawing from the model with Instructor Vitaly Shtanko.

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       At the end of the Spring term at FAA Eric received top grades in his Final Critique; however, finding he was unsatisfied with their curriculum and practices, Eric scoured Italy for another school, visiting numerous academies, studios, and ateliers.  This search brought him to the Florence Academy of Russian Art.  Eric completed the Diploma Program at the Russian Academy with honors, receiving a certificate in Painting and Drawing and was awarded the highest scholarship offered by the institution each year of his studies.

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       At the Russian Academy Eric studied under Members of the Russian Union of Artists and Master-Graduates of the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg, including Svetlana Kurbatskaya, Sergey Kurbatski, Svetlana Terekhina, as well as with visiting instructors such as Valerii Beganov and Yurii Diatlov, former chief professor of anatomy at the Kharkiv Municipal College of Arts in Ukraine.   The Russian Academic program was an intensive, 50+ hour a week curriculum, which includes color theory, composition/elements of design, mastercopy, drawing, painting, anatomy, and lecture and guided study in the museums of Florence and Rome.

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       During his time at the Russian Academy Eric supplemented his training by attending night sessions at Studio Chiaro-Scuro to study with Master Artist Sergey Churbiko from St. Petersburg, and portrait and figure drawing sessions in a local atelier on Via Toscanello.  Saturday mornings, and every day during the breaks, Eric was out plein air painting either alone or with his friend and fellow artist Max Shamin.  Additionally, Eric took full advantage of the treasures of Florence and Rome—daily sketching and studying in the many basilicas, churches, museums.

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      In 2021 Eric returned to the United States and opened a private studio, focusing on personal work, teaching private and group lessons, and working at the nearby prestigious Baer Bronze sculpture foundry as a bronze patina apprentice.  In 2022 Eric accepted an instructor position at American Heritage School, a private institution where he currently teaches courses on art techniques & materials, traditional studio art practices, painting, drawing, and illustration.  Eric and his family live in Alpine, Utah where he daily paints and draws en plein air and in his private studio.