Artwork copyright dick ibach. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2017.

Artwork copyright dick ibach. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2017.

Yakima Saw Mill, 1991

dick ibach
American (born 1940, died 2021)

Location: Lower Columbia College, Longview

About the Artwork

Artist dick ibach created ‘Yakima Sawmill’ after watching smoke rise from a lumber mill at sunset. He describes how the smoke formed cloud shapes “frozen against the pink sky which was lit by the setting sun.” It features ibach’s trademark zigzags and other patterns, and it was created by layering colored pencil over an acrylic paint wash. He believes that you, the viewer, has a responsibility to develop visual literacy: "the ability to know what your feelings and thoughts are in response to an image without the aid of this statement or the need for subject matter.”

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Lower Columbia College.

About the Artist

Spokane, Eastern Washington-based artist dick ibach (1940-2021) created paintings that combine figurative imagery with expressive forms, symbolism, and intense patterning. His art is humorous and often based on his memories: "It is my intention to speak of the contradictions of the human condition: to address both the nobility and stupidity of it all." He believes that the viewer must develop a “visual literacy” and not expect explanations, because “Artists are visual, and their imagery is visual… Words are for poets.”

ibach was born and grew up in Yakima, Central Washington. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Seattle University and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, in 1972. He taught art at Spokane Falls Community College for over fifteen years. He was also a Jesuit brother for ten years during the 1960s and he worked many odd jobs such as a hospital orderly, sod buster, cattle brander, grave digger, and cabinet maker. These experiences shaped his point of view as an artist.