Artist statement
Artwork is my way of telling a story. It is for the most
part all that I think about.
My paintings are primarily of people. People are vastly
different from each other
and are always changing. I strive to capture the subject’s
complexity as well as their personality and beauty. I isolate the subject
through color, contrast and composition, thereby making the scene more intimate
and insuring that there are no distractions. I am fascinated by subjects that
are unaware of the observer and try to portray a feeling of observation without
involvement on the part of the viewer.
I paint using powdered pigments mixed with various mediums
laid down in thick transparent glazes. This method allows me to mix colors optically
by hatching energetic lines of saturated color over a dark under painting.
To me a great painting is visually provocative, well
drafted, and ethereally real.
About
My name is Kenneth
Taylor and I am a 22 year old largely self taught artist living in Edmonton KY.
The beginnings of my interest in art came about at the age of ten. When
my brother, sister, friend Nicole, and her two sisters, Ashley and Kim, (who
were also my friends) and I decided for some unknown reason to have a drawing
contest. Well, I lost. Big time. So I did what any self respecting, home
schooled, ten year old kid would do. I buried myself in my windowless room
and drew for about three hours a day.
I was greatly aided in this pursuit by being fortunate enough to
reside with illustrator Gerry Barker.
My first hero among artists that I greatly admire was Rembrant. (This
may have been a result of the windowless room.) Other artists that I wish I'd
been apprenticed to are Winslow Homer, Andrew Wyeth, Jean-Francois
Millet, Edgar Degas, Mark Rothko, (strange but true) Raymond Kelley, Lee
Teter, Jacob Collins, Albert Bierstadt, Johannes Vermeer, and others who's
names escape me at the moment. I have an eclectic taste in art, but my true
interest is the figure.
I am primarily an oil painter (thank you Florentines) but also derive
satisfaction from working in graphite, ballpoint pen, and the occasional
encaustic painting. (thank you Egyptians)
If you have not observed by now I
am an artist and not a writer. Perhaps your time would be more wisely spent
looking at my portfolio.
Thanks,
Kenneth