ARTISTS STATEMENT

I create richly textural acrylic abstract landscapes on canvas, drawn from the memory of my travels. Working intuitively and physically, I apply paint straight from the tube, first dividing the surface into two bold color fields. I then build successive wet-over-dry layers with brushes, fingers, sticks, knives, and rags, carrying the color fully onto the thick gallery-wrapped edges. The image emerges through energetic experimentation—never forced.

Each painting is intended to carry the viewer into a peaceful yet emotionally charged space that poses questions rather than offers answers. I want collectors to form a living connection with the work, one that continues to speak through their own imagination and experience. Viewers frequently recognize a specific place within the painting, forging a personal and lasting bond with the image.

BIOGRAPHY

Born in Spokane, Washington, the artist draws early inspiration from his grandfather, Luther Essick—a versatile practitioner of visual art, acting, music, photography, and interior design. After studying fine art at the Rocky Mountain School of Art in Denver (now Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design), he spent two decades in Seattle as a graphic designer, illustrator, and later art director. 

Seeking deeper fulfillment, he returned fully to painting two decades ago, developing a distinctive style through what he calls the “creative conduit.” He has since balanced this studio practice with performing arts, appearing in television commercials and films. 

His work has been featured in more than 70 solo and group exhibitions across the western United States and the East Coast, including multiple shows at the Northwest Museum of Contemporary Arts in Spokane. Galleries in Malibu, Laguna Beach and Palm Desert (CA), Boston, Seattle, Bellevue, La Conner and Spokane (WA), Sun Valley, Coeur d’Alene and McCall (ID), Alaska, Lancaster (WI), Cannon Beach (OR), and Gainesville (FL) have presented his paintings. 

Well over a thousand of his works reside in private and public collections worldwide. He lives and works on a small farm in Hobart, Washington, with his family.