New Work: Rain Moving Across, oil on canvas, 30 x 48 inches

Rain Moving Across, oil on canvas, 30 x 48 inches
Sorelle Gallery, New Canaan, CT   $5400 unframed 

It is fascinating to observe the edges of rain coming to the ground. Once I began to sketch this out on the canvas, there were some gaps in the land patterns and it struck me to turn those gaps into reflective ponds or marsh areas.

The abundance of reflective surfaces opened up the center of the painting, created more depth and made the rain effect even more pronounced. The dark areas at the top and bottom of the oil help to carry the light into the far distance.

And for good measure, the strong diagonal, other cloud forms and the waterways all point to the falling rain. It's theatre - a stage is set for the rain to make an appearance.

New Work: Summer by the Shore, oil on canvas, 40 x 40 inches

Summer by the Shore, oil on canvas, 40 x 40 inches
Sorelle Gallery, New Canaan, CT

Patterns are intriguing and helpful when painting flat landscapes. I was first attracted to the shape of the summer clouds but once that red-purple band was painted in, the rest of the oil became a playground of pooling water, strips on land and vegetation.

Everything merged together, unifying the painting and creating interesting things to see in every part. 

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


 

Grateful Notices: Bright Conversation, oil on panel, 24 x 24 inches

Bright Conversation Oil on panel, 24 x 24

My thanks to the collectors that purchased this oil and to the the wonderful staff at the Sorelle Gallery in New Canaan, CT.

Here's a bit more about this oil:

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.

It was very satisfying to pull all on the elements and unnatural colors together although it didn't come quickly.

Grateful Notices: Columbine Country Club, Denver

Two of my oils were recently selected for the Columbine Country Club. They have assembled quite an art collection for this remodeling project and I'm honored to be a part.

At the bar, 3 x 3 foot oil on canvas

At the entry, 4 x 5 foot oil on canvas

My thanks to Debbrah Courtney of Denver Art Company Inc. for her selections and to my Denver gallery, Saks Gallery Cherry Creek.

BRIGHT PATTERNS
Oil on canvas, 48 X 60      Collection, Columbine Country Club
More about this oil on Ken's blog, For the Color

ILLUMINATED FALL II
oil on canvas 36 x 36  Collection, Columbine Country Club

Grateful Notices: Marsh Tones, oil on canvas, 36 x 48 inches

Marsh Tones, oil on canvas, 36 x 48 inches  Private Collection

My many thanks to the collector that brought this oil for her home.

About the oil Marsh Tones:

First off, I want to thank Ed Chesnovitch for his great photo of this marsh. Living in Colorado doesn't allow for much marsh scenery, so I am grateful to Ed and the composition he captured.

At the beginning of this oil I wanted to use colors I haven't used before and to keep everything fresh. This scene is very atmospheric with a haze everywhere that is also reflected in the water. There is a sun effect in the photo, but early on I decided to play that down.

It was important for me to begin with a variety of colors, not knowing exactly how they would come together. There isn't a lot of visual information here, so the plan was to use color as a key interest. The land and tree masses are essentially three bands of color, so it felt essential to add more chroma in unexpected ways.

As the painting developed it became apparent that the contrasts and clarity in the foreground would be important to this work and as the scene receded, just enough detail was maintained to carry the viewer's interest back to the trees and sky. Since this is a horizontal landscape, care was taken to simultaneously keep it interesting across the entire left to right space as well.

There is much to see here but without high detail and a glow suffuses everything, bringing the oil to life. To make a work with this amount of subtlety is a bit like a minimalist poem with the point clearly made. It is so easy to overwork something like this.

New Work: Marsh Tones, oil on canvas, 36 x 48 inches

Marsh Tones, oil on canvas, 36 x 48 inches

First off, I want to thank Ed Chesnovitch for his great photo of this marsh. Living in Colorado doesn't allow for much marsh scenery, so I am grateful to Ed and the composition he captured.

Ed Chesnovitch, pastel

Ed is a very accomplished Cape Cod artist and I would encourage you to visit his website and sign up for his newsletter.  He is also represented by the Left Bank Gallery in Wellfleet, MA.

2014 Workshop at the North River Art Society

Workshop:

I will be teaching a 2 1/2-Day Making it Fine Art / Advanced Strategies nearby in Marshfield, MA August 26-27, 2017. It is sponsored by the North River Art Society.
Register by contacting Peggy Bruno 781-837-8091 or email northriverarts@gmail.com 

Open to artists in all media.

Workshop flyer   Complete information on the Workshop page  Contact Ken

About the oil Marsh Tones:

At the beginning of this oil I wanted to use colors I haven't used before and to keep everything fresh. This scene is very atmospheric with a haze everywhere that is also reflected in the water. There is a sun effect in the photo, but early on I decided to play that down.

It was important for me to begin with a variety of colors, not knowing exactly how they would come together. There isn't a lot of visual information here, so the plan was to use color as a key interest. The land and tree masses are essentially three bands of color, so it felt essential to add more chroma in unexpected ways.

As the painting developed it became apparent that the contrasts and clarity in the foreground would be important to this work and as the scene receded, just enough detail was maintained to carry the viewer's interest back to the trees and sky. Since this is a horizontal landscape, care was taken to simultaneously keep it interesting across the entire left to right space as well. 

There is much to see here but without high detail and a glow suffuses everything, bringing the oil to life. To make a work with this amount of subtlety is a bit like a minimalist poem with the point clearly made. It is so easy to overwork something like this.

Turns out, this oil will be a prelude for a much larger one beginning this week. I'm really looking forward to revisiting this scene.