As the desert heat rises and summer takes full bloom, Melissa Morgan Fine Art invites you to experience the cool serenity and emotional depth of Eric Zener’s iconic water-inspired artworks — now available at the gallery.

Eric Zener, Free Flow, Cast Resin and Mixed Media, 41 x 33 inches

Known for his luminous, hyperrealistic paintings of figures submerged in water, Zener captures the sensory beauty and symbolic power of immersion. His works explore transformation, solitude, and renewal — often portraying subjects floating, diving, or suspended just beneath the surface, bathed in refracted light.

 

In the stillness of water, Zener offers a sense of both escape and awakening — each piece is a celebration of water as a metaphor: for life, for change, for letting go.

Eric Zener, Sunkissed, Oil on Canvas, 60 x 48 inches

Zener has been painting for over 30 years and best known for his photorealist paintings. A self-taught artist, Zener manipulates light to create psychologically charged atmospheres for his subjects, who never reveal their faces but nonetheless appear vulnerable while immersed in water.

 

Zener has chosen to use oil paints in his works for the finish, translucency, and the way that they portray light and reflections. Oil paint allows for rich, vibrant colors and a wide range of textures, making it the ideal medium for capturing the luminous quality of water and light that is central to his work. With a slow drying time, Zener has the ability to blend and layer colors to create depth and detail in his paintings, allowing him to achieve the lifelike details that are characteristic of his style.

Eric Zener, Deep Plunge, Cast resin and Mixed Media, 35 x 32 inches

For two decades Zener has also created a body of mixed media work featuring his photography, silver leaf, and hand embellished acrylic ink on panel with resin. These luminescent works transform with the variation of light and are uniquely one-of-a-kind.

Zener works uses a process that combines layering photographs that have been printed on gold or silver leafed panels before applying layers of paint and resin. The result is a composition in which the idea of floating is not only depicted, but presented, each layer of a piece separating the foreground and background, allowing for a vacillation between them.

Eric Zener, Angel, Cast resin and Mixed Media, 31 x 41 inches

Whether you're collecting or simply seeking inspiration, we welcome you to visit Melissa Morgan Fine Art to view these extraordinary works in person. Step into the stillness. Float into summer.

 

Now on view and available for acquisition at:
Melissa Morgan Fine Art
73-660 El Paseo, Palm Desert, CA
www.melissamorganfineart.com

 

Contact us for availability, private viewings, or information on commissioned works.


Select Works Available by California Artists

Lisa Bartleson

Lisa Bartleson, Mexican Marigold, acrylic on linen, 65 x 56 x 2 in

Lisa Bartleson, Lunar 0424.72.01, 2024, acrylic, pencil and sawdust, canvas on aluminum frame, 72 x 72 in

Lisa Bartleson is a California-based artist known for her light-focused, meditative works inspired by the West Coast Light & Space movement. She creates paintings by layering materials like mylar and linen, capturing subtle shifts in color and light. Her work invites quiet contemplation and has been exhibited widely in museums and galleries across the U.S.

Jimi Gleason

Jimi Gleason, Orbit, 2019, acrylic on canvas, 20 x 16 in

Jimi Gleason, Astral Kine, 2018, acrylic on canvas, 16 x 12 in

Jimi Gleason is a Southern California artist known for his luminous, reflective paintings that interact with light and viewer perspective. Using silver nitrate on acrylic canvases, he creates dynamic surfaces that shift with ambient light. His work has been exhibited widely, including at the Hammer Museum and Long Beach Museum of Art.

Kelly Berg

Kelly Berg, Electric Ocean 7.21.20, 2020, Ink and Acrylic on Clayboard, 8 x 8 in

Kelly Berg, Sunrise at Vasquez, 2020, Acrylic on wood, 10 x 10 in

Kelly Berg is a Los Angeles–based artist known for her paintings and mixed-media sculptures inspired by natural forces and geological forms. Her work often features layered acrylic on wood and explores themes like tectonic shifts and ancient symbols.

Melissa Morgan Fine Art

73660 El Paseo Drive
Palm Desert, CA, 92260

Melissa Morgan Sculpture Garden

gallery Hours

MONDAY |  by appointment

TUESDAY |  11am—5pm

WEDNESDAY |  11am—5pm

THURSDAY |  11am—5pm

FRIDAY |  11am—5pm

SATURDAY |  11am—5pm

SUNDAY |  by appointment

contact us

Phone

(+1) 760.341.1056

email

info@melissamorganfineart.com

Copyright © 2025, Art Gallery Websites by ArtCloudCopyright © 2025, Art Gallery Websites by ArtCloud