Art of Ken

Ken Collins is a self-taught artist who expresses his art through photography and painting.

Ken draws his view of the world and its cultural influences mostly from his travels of the United States and partially from his travels outside the United States.  He has lived in New Mexico, Texas, Mississippi, Idaho, Virginia, and Georgia, but has visited nearly every other state in the continental United States.  Ken’s international travels have extended to Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, and Saudi Arabia.

Ken’s photography mostly reflects the way in which he views nature.  His first camera as a child was a Polaroid instant camera that he used to capture landscapes.  Over the years, his cameras have changed and his locations have changed, but his focus on nature always remained strong.  Working with digital color photography, Ken has moved mostly from landscapes to close views of nature.  His favorite shots are macro views of flowers, but he has an equal love of “critters” of all types.  For Ken, photography provides an opportunity to commune with and study nature in all its glory in the hopes of capturing moments in time and only recently has he begun to share his photos with the world.

With brush and canvas, Ken most enjoys the process by which art comes to life.  Art lives and Ken approaches each canvas as a newborn child.  With a vision for the future of the piece, he begins his work to influence the piece towards that vision.  However, as with a child, the more time progresses and the closer the piece comes to maturity, the more it begins to take on a life of its own.  It’s as if the piece has realized its own existence and begins to move toward its own vision of its future.  He continues to inject his own influence into the piece and must finally let the piece live the life it’s chosen, happy with the knowledge that he guided it during its growth – the proud parent of a work of art!  The process of creating life and watching it grow is fascinating to Ken.

Acrylic is presently his medium of choice because it dries quickly and allows him to move forward with each piece in a short amount of time.  Ken Collins currently resides in Farmington, New Mexico and his art can be found on his website at www.ArtofKen.com