In Ridgefield, just north of Vancouver, Ken Spurlock begins many of his paintings the same way: by covering the canvas in black.
From there, color pushes forward — circles, ovals, crosses layered in acrylic, marker, and collage. Some marks disappear. Others remain.
He describes this process as mark making — the idea that everyone is drawn to certain shapes, and that those repeated forms become a kind of signature. In workshops, he asks people to notice what they naturally return to. The exercise is less about technique and more about recognizing instinct.
That repetition — of shape, of layering — runs through his work.
This piece is inspired by spring time flowers at Memaloose Overlook park in the Columbia Gorge. This hiking trail explodes with rare flowers between May and June. Views of snow capped Mt Hood and Mt Adam’s in the distance. I have hiked in the Columbia Gorge for over 35 years. Hiking through nature’s wonderland gives me an endorphin rush.
Spurlock grew up in a working-class town in northern Michigan, one of three children and the only son. His father was a construction painter with Appalachian roots. His mother hosted painting parties at home. As a child, he wasn’t formally trained in art, but he was always creating — building toys from cardboard and paper, inventing worlds out of what was available.
At nineteen, he moved to Idaho to attend a small Nazarene Christian college. While studying sociology, he took an abnormal psychology course and learned that homosexuality was still being described as a mental health issue. He did not yet have the language for his identity. When he eventually came out, he describes leaving that religious environment as a “great divorce.” His church community had shaped much of his early life. Separating from it meant starting over.
He moved to Boise, completed his undergraduate degree and later a master’s in education, and became involved in the gay community there. That period marked a turning point — socially and personally. It required redefining who he was outside of the structures that had once defined him.
Art stayed steady.
For nearly 28 years, Spurlock worked as a residential real estate agent. He taught children to paint. After moving west, he sang in Portland’s Gay Men’s Chorus. He ran a bed and breakfast near Mt. Adams. In each chapter — educator, realtor, entrepreneur — creativity remained central.
About seventeen years ago, he began holding one-man art shows and eventually set up a gallery in his garage. What had long been present became more intentional. Two years ago, after retiring from real estate, he chose to focus fully on developing his art practice.
He now lives in Ridgefield, Washington, just north of Vancouver. He calls it the land of volcanoes. The Pacific Northwest shapes his work, even when it remains abstract. Forest tones, river light, and darker contrasts show up in palette and composition rather than literal landscape. He also travels to the Southwest to see Indigenous petroglyphs. The repetition of carved shapes resonates with him — the way people return to certain marks over time.
Two years ago, he experienced a stroke that left him with temporary double vision. Instead of stepping away from painting, he created what he calls his Double Vision collection. The works from that period layer forms more densely. Shapes overlap. Contrast intensifies. The physical experience became part of the visual language.
His paintings shift with what he is living through. During COVID isolation, anger surfaced in the work. During the Me Too movement, the tone became more confrontational. For Spurlock, art is not separate from experience. It absorbs it.
One painting, Dixon, began during the Double Vision period in 2023. It is named after a family he helped move multiple times over the years, reflecting the long relationships built during his real estate career. Like much of his work, it continues to evolve.
Ridgefield is small. Artists gather for monthly art chats in Ridgefield, Battle Ground, and Woodland — informal spaces to bring work and receive encouragement rather than critique. The range is wide: recycled jewelry, first canvases, experienced painters. Within that room, Spurlock’s bold abstraction stands out.
When he sold a piece of Pride art in Ridgefield for the first time, it felt significant. Being openly gay in a small community is not separate from his practice. He does not hide who he is. He has helped expand local arts bylaws to more explicitly welcome LGBTQ+ artists. He also creates male nude photography for smaller audiences.
At the center of his practice is process. The canvas begins in black. Marks return. Layers build. Some are buried. Some stay visible.
In Ridgefield and throughout the Northwest, his work hangs on the wall — bold, abstract, and unmistakably his.
Ken can be reached at AbstractArtKSpurlock@gmail.com and his work can be found online at Instagram @abstractartkenspurlock.
Affiliations, shows and awards:
2026 Featured Artist at the Ford Gallery, Portland, Oregon
2025 Creating Spaces Guest Artist at Plas Newydd Farm Art Show, Ridgefield WA
2025 Featured Open Studios Artist, Clark County, Sponsred by ARSTRA
2023 Featured Open Studios Artist, Clark County, Sponsred by ARSTRA
2024 Best of Show Award Winning Artist, Ridgefield, Washington
2024 Rembrandt Award, Ridgefield Art Association
2024 Guest Artist at the Broadway Gallery, Longview, Washington
2022-2024 Clark County Arts Commission
2022-2024 Ridgefield Art Association board member
Current art installations where Ken’s art can be seen:
Ridgefield Mercantile at 418 Pioneer Street, Ridgefield, Washington. Ken is the first artist with an installation in this venue that runs through March 31, 2026.
Ridgefield Library at 210 Main Street,
Ridgefield, Washington.
In November, 2026, Ken will be the featured artist with Clark County Open Studios when his art studio will be open to the public for two days.
