Ken Strong wurde 1960 in Brisbane geboren. Er verbrachte seine Kindheit in der Umgebung vom Kuringai Chase National Park im Norden von Sydney und lebte später an der Küste von New South Wales.
Ken lebt zurzeit mit seiner Frau Jocelyn und seinen zwei Töchtern in Port Maquarie.


Einflüsse:

Ken hat seine Fähigkeiten in der Komposition und Ölfarbenmalerei seit über 15 Jahren entwickelt. Ken's persönlicher Stil wurde besonders durch australische und natürlich auch durch  europäische Impressionisten beeinflusst. Die flexiblen Möglichkeiten des Impressionisten den Realismus in einer fast wahreren Form als die Realität zu porträtieren, ist eine große Quelle der Inspiration für ihn.

 

 

Galerie


Momentane Orientation:

Ken sieht seinen primären Schwerpunkt im Moment in der Landschaftsmalerei, die oft ungewöhnlicherweise den Einfluss beziehungsweise die Assoziation mit dem menschlichen Element verknüpft.


Ein freier Versuch des Künstlers:

Die Landschaft ist niemals statisch. Sie ist ständig Veränderungen ausgesetzt, farblicher Natur aber auch struktureller und visionärer. Wir erleben mit der Landschaft ein sich immer wechselndes Image, veränderte Texturen und verborgene Geheimnisse in Schatten und unauffälligen Details.
Ob es nun eine ausdrucksvolle Meeresszene ist, eine Wüstenlandschaft in gleißender Sonne oder ein bizarres Riff, alle haben ein vibrierendes Potential und versteckte Energien, die durch einen leichten oder mächtigen Pinselstrich freigesetzt werden können.

Die realistische Wiedergabe des Objektes wird weniger wichtig, da durch das Gefühl der Umgebung Ausdruck verliehen wird. Dies wird erreicht durch gut durchdachte Komposition und freie Applikation des Mediums. Schnelle, exakte Pinselbewegungen werden manchmal den visuellen Fluss brechen und die Bildentwicklung besänftigen.
Mein Anliegen ist es, die Macht, die durch Ölfarbe gegeben ist, mit ausdrucksstarken Formen und schönen Objekten zu verbinden. Ein abwechslungsreiches Landschaftsbild bietet die ideale Flexibilität, um dieses Anliegen in eine kreative Komposition zu verwandeln.

English:

KEN STRONG

Observation of your surroundings is one thing, to sit and gaze at the sky and soak in the atmosphere is great, but the role of the artist is more than just this, it is to demonstrate what makes the place “tick”. What are the key emotions that are generated? How can these best be presented in a composition to create the right feel? What creates the mood of the place? Is it the history, is the influence felt from pre-made opinions, or what is coming out of the surrounding atmosphere at the time you are there.

The mind begins to spin when you try to rationalise these ideas into something which is formulated in charcoal and pigment.

It is the unknown into which you explore. It is the potential to sometimes grasp something special in pigment which may not necessarily be easy to quantify in words. This is the fun of painting

Ken was born in Brisbane in 1960 and is currently living on the North Coast of NSW.

Many of Kens works combine a carefully constructed subject with vigorous application of pigment. Movement is paramount with the observer lead around the composition following the textures and shadows developed within the structure. The suggestion of detail will often be used in lieu of specific detail, the suggestions being used to support the subject but not detract with over-complexity. He has been described as a “colourist” and an “impressionist”, a combination of both resulting in a unique approach to creative artwork.

Ken has been painting for over 25 years and is developing increased recognition for his work both Nationally and Internationally. He has participated in over 38 exhibitions over this period including 24 solo, and is a regular contributor to Australian and International Artist Magazines.

He paints almost exclusively using the oil medium.

Career Focus

Exhibitions have been the primary outlet for his works since the first solo exhibition in 1988 in Kendall, NSW, Australia. A legacy of these exhibitions has been a significant number of commissions through private galleries. A continuous presence of work is maintained in a number of galleries. International exposure in recent years has proven extremely successful with promotional work continuing in the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom.

Collection Representation

Works are currently held in numerous private and corporate collections in Australia, The United States of America and Canada following exhibitions held in these locations over the past 19 years. Further commissions have resulted from these exhibitions.

Works also held in collections in the United Kingdom, Germany and The Netherlands following promotional work in these countries over the past 5 years.

A substantial quantity of works completed on subjects from these locations, mainly United Kingdom and the Netherlands, have been featured in exhibitions in Australia and overseas exhibitions. A particular focus on Cornwall, Northern Scotland and Amsterdam have featured in a number of these exhibitions.

Recent times has seen a change in focus towards Italy with several exhibitions featuring works based from Tuscany and Venice.

A series of works based on American institutions including the Whitehouse, Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson memorial, the Washington Monument are currently hanging in major corporate institutions in Washington DC.

Ausbildung:

Studierte Malerei und technisches Zeichnen an der N.S. W. University of Technology.
Studierte formale Anwendungen und Malerei unter dem späten Fred Alexander.
Hat ausgiebig in den letzten Jahren mit anderen zeitgenössischen Künstlern zusammengearbeitet, und konnte so seinen persönlichen Stil weiterentwickeln und festigen.

 

Auszeichnungen:

Jacaranda Art Prize „Open Award“ 1982
Macquarie Award 1000, zwischen 1982 und 1990
Verschiedene Auszeichnungen und Preise
Prime Television Kunst Preis 1994 – nominiert für das Finale.


Schriftliche Dokumentationen:

Australian Artist, Painters of the World, Art Collector , TOP Magazin Aachen und in verschiedenen Lokalnachrichten.

Publications

Contributions to Australian Artist and International Artist magazine over the last 12 years including the following articles

July 1992
Australian Artist – Use Colour to Enhance Your Composition
September 1994
Australian Artist - Water Can Be Any Colour You Like
September 1997
Australian Artist - Let Yourself Go With Oils
December 1998
International Artist Magazine - Australian Showcase
November 1999
Australian Artist – Building Character With Lashings of Colour
December 1999
Australian Artist – Building Character With Lashings of Colour (Part 2)
October 2000
International Artist – Open Interpretation
March 2002
Dramatising Scenes Using Water
Feb 2004
Artists Palette Magazine - No 29 The Wonders of Water
June 2004
International Artist
August 2006
Australian Artist
May 2008
Australian Artist – Seeing light as a tool in your Palette