Stow has certainly made--and continues to make--a major impact on the insider art world but, it stands to question: what makes his oil paintings worth the $200,000 minimum price tag?

​

Stow, who is a prodigy, has been winning art contests since the tender age of seven and appearing as a male model since even younger--giving him more than 35 years industry experience. But, it doesn't stop there. With 18 years--professionally--behind the canvas, multiple residencies, several international tours, two couture fashion apprenticeships, countless magazine/newspapers articles, feature film appearances, pop album features (with Twitchitt), two failed electronica EPs, a graphic novel trilogy set in a blossoming cartoon universe, and admittance (with matriculation) at a fine arts institute--on top of a bachelors degree in a related field from Texas Tech University--Stow totes more than simply experience. He's an authority in his field. With his practice coming of age and a New York arrival behind him, Stow decided a minimum-wage per square inch of original art was in order. Each year Stow adds on dollar per-square inch value per annum. Currently, Erick Stow's original artworks are valued at $19 per square inch.

 

Yes, that waterproof 12" x 18" print you bought from Erick for $50 five years ago on at your home or place of business is now worth about $4,000.

​

This valuation is set alongside Stow's endorsement from Dreamville Records and his portrait work for Mike Tyson, Norm McDonald, and Phil Knight (to name a few). But, still, his valuation is more than simply the result of his industry status: it's inherent in his contributions to arts and visual sciences at large in his neurological symphony.

​

In 2015, Stow set out to Los Angeles from Winnipeg area to debut a style dubbed "Motionism" by his patron, LA County Mayoral Candidate Asher Luzzato, on Fairfax Avenue during his 7-week, 77,777 sq. in. installation at HYPERSLOW. The Motionism style is a post-impressionist movement with cubist inspiration mixed with architectural scale, and colour theory. The fabulous result is a omniscient, kaleidoscopic, alt-visionary tableau with references to divination and design. In a literary context, it's a movement about movement citing stillness as a physical impossibility outside of the realm of a second dimensional narrative. 

​

"I wanted to make something [the viewer] could find something new in every time they looked at it. I wanted to make a still image that told entire tales and rivalled moving pictures," Stow posits, "I began with studies of Jackson Pollock's work, and, unbenownst to me at the time, virtually duplicated Damien Hirst's 1990s style--those sort of puzzle pieces with wild, vibrant colour combos. I took some inspirations from Takashi Mirakami's Superflat style, how he'd cram so much into one piece! That sort of excitement. Then, cubism naturally of fell into the mix. When I hit the canvas, I couldn't miss. It's like batting 1000. Mastered."

​

Furthermore, Stow has paid his dues: 100% of his career has been privately funded, giving all his loyalty to the public at large. Zero grants. Zero government support.

 

"The result is astounding," says Stow, "I can write a request on a wall and the whole world moves to my dream; I am incredibly humbled by my position and grateful for the support of the generations I am considered to speak for."

​

Stow continues to make waves with his current studies in digital arts and its relationship with the Vedas and blossoming fashion design. He is considered one of the top creators in the Vancouver area. He currently resides in Richmond, British Columbia (a beautiful suburb of gorgeous Vancouver, Canada).

​

Copyright 2026. Society of Professional Journalists. All rights reserved.