artist bio / statement bio

To me, making art is the statement you make about your subject from your point of view, from your emotions and with the skills you've attained to translate and record those qualities onto the canvas or paper. I am a "Representational" artist. But , I am not interested in being a human camera, recording what lies in front of me without bringing something to the work through my intuition, perspective and creative urge. So much art is judged by the extent to which an artist has captured a subject's likeness or how well a scene has been copied. To be sure, that much takes skill. It is a craft, but not necessarily art. A skill is learned but the ability to make art is an attribute with which we are all endowed. It is part of our desire to express ourselves, to let our fellow beings know we exist and have a way of looking at things. It is the common thread that runs through the poet, the writer, the composer, the painter, the sculptor or the person who arranges the flowers in a vase to his or her liking. How well we hone that attribute is what makes an "artist". And to the extent that that endowment inspires, enlightens, entertains or moves us is what separates artists from great artists.

I work in oils, watercolors, acrylics and a variety of line techniques. I work primarily from photos since many of the subjects I paint are unable to sit for me. Another reason I must work from photos is that the people that I paint are best known for they're past achievements and should be immortalized at the age of their athletic accomplishments. When doing a portrait from a photo of a living person I prefer to do the photography myself or at least direct it so that the work is as much my own as possible. Oftentimes, I select and combine parts from a variety of photos to make a painting in order to create a fresh image unseen before. Finally, I must admit, I prefer working alone, at my own pace, free to experiment and to be unencumbered by a sitter's impatience or premature critiques. Working from photographs requires discipline. One must guard against being too literal. There is a need to exercise more creativity, to add something to the image that can only come from within you.

The call I feel as an artist is to make each piece I create another step in an ongoing process of self-expression, to get better at the craft and not become stale, predictable, typical or boring. It is, to make my art my own.  

Thank you for taking the time to stop by and have a look. Feel free to call or e-mail with any questions.

Kind regards,

Ken Rumbaugh