Born in Wigan in 1957, Eric Gaskell studied painting and printmaking at Wigan College and Sunderland College. After leaving art college he won two painting scholarships, to New York and Istanbul and the Sunderland Fine Art prize. Since then, he has continually worked in the creative industry; making, teaching and illustrating. He has exhibited in New York, Quebec, Ghent, Dublin, London and around the UK in numerous solo and group shows since the early 1980s.