Taking advantage of his location in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, halfway between the ocean and the mountains, Dempsey Essick hikes, explores, and fishes both in the Atlantic and in the clear mountain streams of the beautiful Blue Ridge. In his newest painting he depicts a scene on Wilson Creek, a watershed of Grandfather Mountain, where it cuts through the Pisgah National forest near the settlement of Edgemont. Dempsey was off the marked trails, following the creek upstream, looking for just such a scene when he went around a bend and Behold! There before him was the scene he had been looking for. The summit of Yellow Buck Mountain is framed by the opening in the tree line where the creek forms a perfect trout pool then bubbles and hisses across smooth rocks as it exits the picture right at the viewers feet. The whole scene is accented by a lone pine tree that leans precariously out over the creek.

The picture reflects Dempsey's maturing skill both in his unparalleled touch with the smallest of brushes and the realism that has caused some viewers to lean closer to hear the sound of the water flowing across rocks that have been smoothed by centuries of gentle abrasion.
As is his custom, Dempsey has included a hidden hummingbird image in the painting.