To experience one of the carefully composed, often extremely horizontal oil paintings created by artist Fred Easker is to be pulled into the canvas, to linger, to discover and to savor the visual delights of even the small parts of the whole scene depicted. No matter the size of the canvas or the scope of the scene, Easker’s work is always carefully observed with emphasis on light, intimately painted and subtly rendered in such a manner that suggests a meditative process in its creation.

Fred Easker is an Iowa born artist connected to the places he paints by birth, Cedar Rapids, and by choice, the remarkable and beautiful Driftless Region along the Mississippi River in the northeast corner of the state. The artist is inspired by the work of a group of 19th century artists who collectively came to be known as the Hudson River School, particularly the artists Frederick Church, Sanford Gifford and Thomas Moran, whose work is a reverent celebration of the wonders of the natural world. He also claims connection to two artists who grew up in Cedar Rapids— Marvin Cone and the world famous Grant Wood, both of whom celebrated Iowa through their work.