DEAN DAY GALLERY

ARTIST STATEMENT

 

Born 1978 in rural New York, Kenneth is the youngest of four children who were raised by a single mother. He began painting and drawing at the age of seven. His mother was usually unable to provide proper art materials, so Kenneth used crayons, pens, house paint, cardboard, the backside of scrap wallpaper and even the walls in the house to sketch his drawings. He and his family moved to Arizona when Ken was 9.

 

Private oil painting lessons and a trip to Sedona, Arizona inspired him to paint landscapes, which he painted throughout his high school days. Kenneth was not one for the books as he spent many of his school days feeling lost, confused, or just dreaming in the classroom. However, during this time he entered many juried art competitions with success. Kenneth felt like he was starting to find himself through his art. While attending a local community college, Kenneth progressed to figure painting and drawing. But after a few semesters and feeling frustrated with his progress and lack of direction, Kenneth gave up painting and pursued a seemingly more practical road to an artistic career, Graphic Design. Although it turned out to be short lived, learning Photoshop, animation and photography would prove beneficial in his future process for creating his wide variety of work. At just 22 and frustrated with an undefined career path in art, Kenneth took what ended up being a seven year hiatus from art entirely.

 

The desire to pick up a brush again didn’t happen until he heard the news of his first child on the way. He was going to have a daughter and a flood of new emotions filled his heart and mind. Kenneth began painting abstract pieces which he explained were inspired from non-subjective forms in his mind and raw energy. This presented an entirely new freedom for Kenneth that he longed for but never knew how to unleash. Now at 35, he is hard at work using both the subjective world and the bold abstract world together in his work. His latest pieces reflect a bit of all his background and Kenneth prides himself on being versatile. Ironically, Kenneth is colorblind, and although this used to present a challenge for him as an artist, he has learned to control his color palette to limit his frustration.

 

“Being a self-taught artist, and also colorblind, led to years of frustration, but through trial and error, methodically over the years I have found what works for me. I work with many layers, different substrates, and all types of media. Instead of using colors to create depth; I use my surface. I feel it is the most important element of my work.”