Acclaimed artist at Peace River National Art Festival
Award-winning artist Ben Essenburg’s story is one that for most artists is only a dream. His paintings of Florida wildlife and environs can take your breath away and put you in a place of pure beauty.
His acrylic Valentine ’06, a painting of two green herons, was selected by Charlotte County’s Visual Arts Center as the signature image for third annual Peace River National Art Festival. This reproduction can in no way measure up to the experience of seeing his original paintings which will be available at the event on February 28 and March 1 in Laishley Park, Punta Gorda, where Essenburg will be one of the 100 fine arts exhibitors.
The Peace River National Art Festival is presented to the community by the Visual Arts Center, a non-profit organization located in Punta Gorda. A $2 donation is requested for entry; all proceeds go to benefit the Center and its programs. Plenty of free parking is available at or near the park. Great food, light entertainment, Children’s Art tent provided by the Arts & Humanities Council, Bin 82 will manage the wine booth and CCYP will manage the beer tent.
Only the best artists in each category are selected by a jury of experts to take part in such national shows. This is not a new experience for Essenburg. An Englewood resident since 1993, he has participated in popular and noteworthy festivals and exhibits throughout Florida. His work is part of private and corporate collections throughout the United States as well as in Canada, Europe, Asia and South America. He legitimately epitomizes the description “award-winning” with a wall in his studio laden with prestigious gold, blue and red ribbons too numerous for casual counting.
Richard Sullivan, show director/consultant to the Visual Arts Center, who has been recognized for producing some of the best art shows in the country predicts the Peace River show will be “one of the finest collections of original art work ever displayed in Charlotte County” and described Essenburg as “one of my favorite people on the planet and one of the finest artists I’ve ever met.”
Essenburg’s career path has been enviable. After graduating from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., in 1970, the Illinois native and his wife Jill, also a graduate of Calvin, moved to Fort Lauderdale where she had landed a teaching position. He became a successful paint and wallpaper contractor for a short time until the recession left him unemployed. His wife had stopped teaching with the arrival of their first child and the family needed an income.
While in a convenience store, he saw a poster advertising for artists for a local art show. He resurrected his acrylic paints and brushes left over from his only college art class and painted compositions of Florida flora and fauna. At that show, he sold three paintings for a total of $120 and was hooked. He painted part time for about a year and a half before becoming a full-time artist.
The rest is history. Along with earning significant awards and an excellent reputation, Essenburg was able to support his family and put his four children through college with the sale of his art work. He shares a lesson he has learned with his children advising them, “Do what you like to do and what you are good at and you’re likely to be successful. You may or may not get rich, but if you can earn your living doing what you like – that’s the real success.”
Much of Essenburg’s inspiration for his landscapes and wild-life paintings is a by-product of his love of fishing which gives him lots of time to study birds and other of nature’s creatures as well as their surroundings. Though his works evoke the sensation of particular locations, which many observers believe they recognize, he specifically does not depict singularly identifiable settings but the essence of and emotional response to nature’s sights, sounds and creatures.
“While I occasionally use photographs for reference,” he said, “I work primarily from memory and imagination. This allows me more freedom to concentrate on the overall impact of the painting. Since I am familiar with the subject matter, the images are quite realistic – but my primary objective is not just accuracy but rather to communicate and share how I feel about what I am painting, to create a sense of time and space.”
Diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease four years ago, Essenburg, now 61, is currently able to devote an hour or two to his painting each day. He emphasizes his talent is a true gift from God and is trusting in Him to guide him in the path that lies ahead.
Ben Essenburg, of Englewood, is one of the 100 nationally recognized artists selected to exhibit at the 2009 Peace River National Art Festival.
For other festival information, please contact Michele Valencourt at the Visual Arts Center, Punta Gorda at 941-639-8810 or go to vac@daystar.net.
The Visual Arts Center is a non-profit organization that offers residents and visitors the opportunity to explore, create, and enjoy the visual arts of painting, drawing, pottery, fine crafts like pottery and jewelry-making, sculpture, and the new art technologies like website design. The Center is open year round with three major galleries, gift shop, studios, and a
large arts library. All activities are open to the general public.