All kids doodle with cartoon art Dempsey Essick was no exception. The big difference is that Dempsey’s junior high and high school drawings were real art. He painted life size murals in the children’s room of the North Davidson Public Library that have been preserved and still look great today. It makes you think that art was his destiny right from the beginning.
"Tree"
6th Grade oil painting
"Ballplayers"
7th grade oil painting
"Still Life Pink Tablecloth"
8th Grade oil painting
"Still Life in Golds"
8th Grade Pastel Painting
"Mural"
Life size mural painted junior year of high school at North Davidson Public Library.
"Mural"
One of 6 life size murals painted for North Davidson Public Library during junior year of high school.
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Painted during his sophomore year of high school, this original hung in a public showing at Davidson County Community College where Dempsey was offered $10 for it even though it was marked NFS. $10 was a lot back then. We have considered having him repaint it just to see how it would look now that his style has been perfected.
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Birthday painting for Shelley while dating.
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1st wedding anniversary painting for Shelley.
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Prize winning painting at Davidson Co Art Guild in 1973.
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Hobby painting during 1970’s.
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Hobby painting during 1970’s.
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Painted at birth of John Dempsey Essick, Jr in 1976.
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Long before Beth ever held that live hummer or Dempsey ever dreamed of being the Hummingbird Artist, he did this painting for Beth. Notice the style is much looser than what he paints today.
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When Shelley began her career with the USPS in 1980, Dempsey created these flash cards for her to use when giving postal tours. The drawings illustrate unusual items that had traveled via the postal service.