New Work: Winter Overlook, oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches

Exhibiting: Saks Galleries, Denver, Colorado

To purchase

About this oil:

Sometimes, making a canvas is a pleasure and this is one of those pieces. I do my share of driving in the Colorado winters and my attention is continually drawn to the bright and dark patterns of the landscape.

The temptation is to replicate that idea but for this oil my intention was to create a compelling, snowy landscape with variations of blue. Instead of the high-contrast approach, everything is softened and atmospheric. The light on the snow is made purposely brighter in a couple of places and it carries the eye outward.

There is much to see compositionally and to create more interest, hundreds of trees are represented here in groups and individually, each represented to create a variety of looks and colors.

The trees, hills and snow make a calming combination of complexity and simplicity.

New Work: Lake Haze - Yellow, oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches

Exhibiting: Sorelle Gallery

To Purchase

About this oil:

As a colorist, sometimes I just want to use color in a simple and unbounded way. Since it’s currently fall, the yellow trees in abundance compelled me to begin a canvas with those trees as a focus.

The painting began with a much more complicated background of three, bright colored hills and they remained there as I worked out the lake patterns, increasing the complexity. 
After a few days of considering what to do next, a solution never presented itself. I was stuck.

The painting had real potential but it as if a key was stuck in the lock. That’s when I realized the original idea of simply expressing color had been overtaken by all of that detail in the background.

So the paints came out, brushes were loaded and the hills were merged into one mass. Detail was kept to a minimum and the background became a wall of light and subtly blended color.

Everything supports and enhances the yellow trees and the large band of color in the back adds drama and power to the work. It was an elegant and colorful solution.

Grateful Notices: Red Wall at the Lake Pastel on paper, 17 5/8 x 23 3/8 inches

Red Wall at the Lake
Pastel on paper, 17 5/8 x 23 3/8  Sold, private collection
Exhibited,: Madelyn Jordan Fine Art, Scarsdale, NY
Also available as a limited edition giclee print

The trees are an excuse to make a red pattern and the pattern is a device for the yellow trees and blues of the lake to to emerge from the background. All the colors and compositional elements work together toward a common goal - to make the reds as bright as possible.

The plan was a simple one, to set up the depth like screens in a stage play and to have horizontal bands of colors dancing across. It was a straightforward enough idea but it took hundreds of pastel strokes to make it come to life. I had a lot of joy in the creation of it and hopefully it comes through in the work.

My thanks to the collector and Madelyn Jordan Fine Art!

Grateful Notices: Lake Sunset, Color Dialog and Cloudswept in Blue, two oils on 24 x 24 panels

Lake Sunset, Color Dialog
Oil on panel, 24 x 24  Private collection
Exhibited: Saks Galleries, Denver

For this painting I wanted to do an evening scene without using the typical sunset colors. So rather than resorting to the use of bright, warmer colors, everything is shifted downward. The light is not intense and the palette is predominately blues and greens. A lot of color is in play here but in a subdued way.

In the last painting session I added the glowing highlights to the water in the foreground. The painting was doing well overall but the water was lacking something. Once the lighter accents were added the water began to glow and I was actually surprised at how much stronger it made the painting overall.… A very satisfying conclusion.

Cloudswept in Blue
Oil on panel, 24 x 24  Private collection
Exhibited: Saks Galleries, Denver

As it was the previous oil, I wanted to do another sunset effect without the usual warm tones. The colors here are severely limited to a number of blues and a couple of purple hues.

The upper part of the painting it is intentionally more opaque and dark. The snow field at the bottom is reflecting the light but it still has just enough density to allow the atmosphere in the center section to retreat backward and set up a glow the permeates the entire scene.

It’s a quiet piece, reminiscent of those silent, snow-covered fields, but if you look carefully, there’s always something a little unexpected and electric in the scene.

My sincere thanks to the collector who purchased these two oils.

Grateful Notices: Water, Land and Sky in Flow Oil on canvas, 36 X 60

Water, Land and Sky in Flow
Oil on canvas, 36 X 60   Private collection, CT
Exhibited: Sorelle Gallery, New Canaan, CT

The way light plays on the surface of lakes is a constant fascination to me. With this oil the lake is a factor but it is equally weighted with the bright, yellow trees in the distance.

This is likely the 5th or so version of this arrangement. As the painting progressed through the different trials, more glowing colors emerged and the overall look of the oil continued to get brighter. 

Each trial yielded a completed painting but after a few days of viewing what I had, those brighter shapes called out for more to be done. In this final version, there is movement everywhere, carried along by the changes in colors and in the way that the mass of the trees and cloud bank are surrounded by the atmosphere in the upper sky its reflection on the lakes surface. 

As it turns out, the painting titled itself. 

New Work: Light Beyond, pastel 18 1/2 x 22 3/8 inches

Light Beyond
Pastel on sanded paper,  18 1/2 x 22 3/8 inches

This started as a pastel demonstration a number of years ago. I came across it when I was clearing things out of my studio and pulled it out to work on.

I still remember being a bit stumped at the time of the workshop, working carefully while talking to the class. Once I saw it again, the solutions poured out in rapid order.

For the most part, the moves were about boldness, adding complexity and insuring that every part of the pastel has its own interest while adding to the whole. The piece surprises me with the iridescent blues and how they move. As I added blues, it was if they were in a conversation with each other, instructing me to push more and bring more blue to the party.

Care was taken to preserve the dark masses at the top to better frame the light play in the back of the scene. I love pastels...

Grateful Notices: Summer Haze, oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches

Summer Haze oil on canvas 36 x 36 inches
Private collection, MAExhibited: Saks Galleries, Denver

My grateful thanks to the Massachusetts collector and everyone at Saks Galleries, Denver for making this acquisition possible!

Grateful Notices:Yellows Across the Lake oil on canvas, 40 x 40 inches

Yellows Across the Lake  oil on canvas, 40 x 40 inches
Private collection, Seattle

Many thanks to the person that purchased this oil. 

I put the pressure on myself by filming myself painting it. As I mentioned in the video, this idea sprang from a teeny pastel sketch I did years before. I remember staying up very late at night with that pastel, struggling very hard with it. In desperation, I scratched it all out with a razor blade and quickly reconstructed it. Out of the ashes came a very nice pastel. 

Years later, it became this oil that that is now hanging in a private collection, a great honor.

View the 13 min. video of Ken creating a 40 x 40 inch oil on canvas from start to finish

Narrating as he paints, Ken describes his methods as the painting develops.

Video credit:
Marianne Pestana Media Services


 

In the Studio, April 19, 2019

Here are some of the oils in progress at the moment.
Back left, 4 x 5
Lower left, 3 x 5
Center, 40 x 50
Back right, 36 x 36

There are a number of puzzles in play here and I'm looking forward to seeing how they all work out. I do like the luxury of having different works to consider rather than bearing down on just one image.

Groups of oils in progress influence one another and better paintings result. It is never a dull day in the studio!

In the Studio, February 4, 2019

In the Studio, February 4, 2019

After a few days making new starts in oil, it's good to look back at that group of paintings and evaluate where things are headed.

Problems abound!

Every oil has its own personality by now and each presents a unique set of obstacles to overcome. At the end of the day today that's exactly why I stopped working on this group. But then there was still some daylight, so a grabbed a pre-stretched 48 x 60 canvas and began another problem child, making 7 canvases now in progress, two that are not in this shot.

Having all of this interesting, raw material around makes me look forward to tomorrows session where I will work on one canvas after another, inching them forward to completion.... or not sometimes.

Its glorious work when it goes well, otherwise those unruly canvases end up in a stack on the floor at the bottom right for another chance or to be painted over. This is not a loss, just a delayed opportunity.

Grateful Notices: Color at the Edge of the Lake, oil on canvas, 30 x 48 inches

Color at the Edge of the Lake, oil on canvas, 30 x 48 inches
Private collection
Exhibited: Dominique Boisjoli Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM

It was a nice surprise to get a call from Dominique with the news that one of her clients had just purchased this painting for their home. I was in the Colorado mountains at the time with views of a snowy paradise all around and the gallery call just capped an already perfect day. Thank you!

Here are the earlier blog notes describing this painting:

I was visiting a friend in the Baltimore area some years ago and came across a photo from that trip, a small stand of trees at the edge of a lake. The photograph was very different, with even lighting and all green foliage.

Regardless, I liked the composition and began the painting with a somewhat subdued palette. After a few sessions, the painting evolved into scene with the light coming in from the back, accentuating the dark trunks in the foreground,

There is a lot of color involved, each with its own part of the tapestry. Earlier, the foreground was darker with more blues but I later opted for a soft carpet of jewel tones spaced among the slightly glowing greens. 

At this point, the subdued palette idea went out the window once I added the more powerful colors to the wall of trees beyond the lake. It was a delight to push the color back there and now I'll pass it onto you.

New Work: Iridescent Lake II, oil on panel, 24 x 24 inches

 Iridescent Lake II, oil on panel, 24 x 24 inches  $2450 framed

Sometimes you just want to do a painting in a different way. This #II version is very similar to the first version below and the obvious difference is the yellow color shift. With this newer version, I opted for more open brush work and it yields a different quality to all of the elements in the scene.

Each time a new work is started, it presents new opportunities for learning and experimentation and as these two works show, so-called small changes can produce big effects.

Iridescent Lake II
Oil on panel, 24 x 24  $2450 framed
Dominique Boisjoli Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM

Here's the earlier blog post for this oil

New Work: Bright Conversation, oil on panel, 24 x 24 inches

Bright Conversation, oil on panel, 24 x 24 inches  $2150 unframed
Sorelle Gallery, New Canaan, CT

This oil started with that bright yellow sky. Since this is a 24 x 24 image, things can happen really fast and they did! I was searching for a means to create the opposite of that bright sky, something dark, by using a line of colorful trees.  

A number of tree patterns came and went until the present shape emerged with that dark reveal at the base of the trees. The foreground went through of permutations as well, with a number of complex to simple arrangements being tried out. 

At one point during the creation of this I realized that despite the scale, the time involved was the same as a much larger oil. It was still a 500 piece puzzle, so to speak, but the pieces were just smaller.

The work finally started to come together with the addition of the hot pink and purple in the distant hill and a generous about of ochres and yellows everywhere.

I thought it was done and left it for a couple of days, but seeing it fresh in the studio again it came off just a bit too monochromatic, so the greens and blues were added just under the base of the trees and at the bit of standing water in the lower left.

...looks like a good idea for a much larger oil. 

New Work: Color at the Edge of the Lake, oil on canvas, 48 x 30 inches

Color at the Edge of the Lake
Oil on canvas, 48 x 30 inches  $6400 framed
Dominique Boisjoli Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM

I was visiting a friend in the Baltimore area some years ago and came across a photo from that trip, a small stand of trees at the edge of a lake. The photograph was very different, with even lighting and all green foliage.

Regardless, I liked the composition and began the painting with a somewhat subdued palette. After a few sessions, the painting evolved into scene with the light coming in from the back, accentuating the dark trunks in the foreground,

There is a lot of color involved, each with its own part of the tapestry. Earlier, the foreground was darker with more blues but I later opted for a soft carpet of jewel tones spaced among the slightly glowing greens. 

At this point the subdued palette idea went out the window once I added the more powerful colors to the wall of trees beyond the lake. It was a delight to push the color back there and now I'll pass it onto you.

Exhibiting: Sorelle Gallery, New Canaan, CT, Nov 8 - Dec 10

Forest Sequence I, oil on  two, 48 x 60 inch canvases, total size, 48 x 120 inches  $24000 unframed

I am pleased to announce an upcoming, 2-person show, Light Effects with Alina B. this November 8 at the Sorelle Gallery, New Canaan, CT.
A number of new works with be exhibiting, including my 3 x 10 ft. oil, Forest Sequence I (see below). The show continues through Dec 10.

View my works in the exhibition

LIGHT MOVING ACROSS
Oil on canvas, 36 X 60      $7500 unframed
More about this oil on Ken's blog, For the Color

Big Pond and Sky
oil on canvas, 40 X 60    $9950 unframed

Lake Palette II
oil on canvas 36 x 60   $7500  unframed

New Work: Iridescent Lake Oil on panel, 24 x 24 inches

Iridescent Lake  Oil on panel, 24 x 24 inches  $2150 unframed

I was very interested in red today, or more precisely, red on red on red. This oil was started with that in mind and once finished, the ambient light bathes everything in saturated red tones. For a colorist painter, it is a happy day.

One red won't do, otherwise the oil would become monotonous like one note over and over again on the piano. Instead, slightly different reds create an attractive disharmony, like a chord containing a sharp or flat note... a bit complicated and more orchestral or jazzy.

It did make a noise hanging in the studio!

New Work: Water, Land and Sky in Flow oil on canvas, 36 60 inches

Water, Land and Sky in Flow  oil on canvas, 36  60 inches
Sorelle Gallery, New Canaan, CT    $7500 unframed

The way light plays on the surface of lakes is a constant fascination to me. With this oil the lake is a factor but equally weighted with the bright, yellow trees in the distance.

Staged installation

This is likely the 5th or so version of this arrangement. As the painting progressed through the different trials, more glowing colors emerged and the overall look of the oil continued to get brighter. 

Each trial yielded a completed painting but after a few days of viewing what I had, those brighter shapes called out for more to be done. In this final version, there is movement everywhere, carried along by the changes in colors and in the way that the mass of the trees and cloud bank are surrounded by the atmosphere in the upper sky its reflection on the lakes surface. 

As it turns out, the painting titled itself. 

New Work: Yellows on a Still Lake, oil on canvas, 36 x 48 inches

Yellows on a Still Lake, oil on canvas, 36 x 48 inches  $8480 framed
Exhibiting:  Dominique Boisjoli Fine Art

It's all about the yellows here and everything in this canvas is there to support the effect.

Being an artist is akin to being a movie director because you get to set the scene just the way you want. The yellow trees are a prime example because the light source is not exactly specified. Since it's all about the yellows, I opted out of that concern. It's entirely possible that the light can shine on the stand of trees this way or it may be that the trees are somehow generating light on their own. Either way, it is still just about those luminescent, yellow trees.

All of the glow is in the trees, not in the sky or back hill and even the yellow reflection is a bit more subdued. Everything is supporting that etherial, yellow light by being darker or a different color. Can you make a yellow glow on it's own? That would be very difficult, but it you use a number of supporting colors, tones and shapes then you have a chance. I reordered all of those elements about a dozen times before this final, glowing effect emerged.

I began this oil over the top of a previous one I had given up on and it felt GREAT to paint it out with this new start. Since the previous painting had more design elements and apparently more ways to fail, I decided to try a simpler idea for this one, something with a singular theme, like it's all about.....

That was a very helpful strategy and it was a pleasure to work through this one. Now I'm back to the studio where there are seven more oils in progress, patiently waiting. I'll shelve the yellow paints for a bit and explore some other colorful schemes.

Grateful Notices: Sunset Pond, pastel, 9 x 12 inches

Sunset Pond, pastel, 9 x 12 inches  Private collection
Exhibited: Dominique Boisjoli Fine Art

I had the wonderful pleasure of visiting a friend on a lake. She had a paddleboat that came with two great incentives: the view and a Starbucks on an opposite shore. A lot of time was spent on the paddleboat and one of the lake photos yielded this sunset view.

This pastel was a delight to do. My intention was to keep it really simple and the center of the pastel reflects just that. OK, so I added a bit more detail to the clouds but then it changed everything. Now the edges of the scene called out for more detail as well. Adding foliage to the sides was very helpful but the center as it was originally done was now lacking something. If you change a thing in one place then it often requires adjustments elsewhere.

I realized I had the perfect opening in the center part of the view to heap more color on the band of trees. I put in a variety of colors as an atmospheric glow... that worked out nicely.

The work could still take more. Go farther! So I aded the bright yellows to punch up the sky and the glowing, blue counterpoint to further accentuate the water,

With just a few additional moves, it all came to life in a way I never imagined.

New Work: Last Colors, pastel, 12 x 18 inches

Last Colors, pastel, 12 x 18 inches  $1350 framed
Exhibiting: Dominique Boisjoli Fine Art

This is all about a singular color and how to keep it interesting. I don't typically work monochromatically but the idea was to catch the greens lit up by a setting sun.

Everything was kept a bit rough at the edges so that the extra detail would add to the complexity. As the pastel progressed, the contrasting colors away from the sun looked best as red-browns and blue-greens. The harmonies were kept tight by using a minimum about of brights and darks.

I'm thinking all the pieces worked together successfully because my eye keeps circling around the pastel, taking it all in.