Ken Elliott                                back to gallery artists

“Typically, I’m trying to use brighter colors than are found in nature, but still seem believable to me. I am also balancing different elements in my work to make a more interesting scene.  Whistler said, ‘I’m improving on nature.’  That is very close to what goes on when I am working.  It is very much a chess game.  There is a lot of deliberating, chance-taking and moving pieces around.”

Recent News:

Current magazine articles:
American Art Collector Magazine, June 2008 excerpt: "Total Arts Gallery is beginning its 39th year as Taos' preeminent destination gallery. ...the gallery is happy to announce the new addition of painter Ken Elliott. Elliott's canvases display the strikingly vivid modern hues in which he chooses to render his contemporary landscapes."

Colorado Expression Magazine, June-July 2008 Fryberger Art Consulting article, with illustration of "Blue Wall" oil, 40x40 inches.

Recent Collections:
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Denver, Colorado has selected Ken's giclees for their guest rooms.

His recent oil "Colorful Progression VI" has been installed at the Mayo Clinic.

His art has been included in two new books:
The Artful Home by Toni Sikes website The Fine Art of Wall Design by Suzanne Gallagher.

Artist Statement:
From a young age, Ken was exposed to the fine arts while working in high-end framing and fine art galleries.  Through this period, he developed a strong sense of what he felt was important and interesting in art.  However, it was when Ken moved to California that he found within himself a strong desire to create it himself.

Surrounded by the beauty of the Californian landscape he began to study and teach himself how to work in pastels and oils.  After a few years of working on his own, he was accepted into the Santa Fe Art Institute Masters painting classes taught by Wolf Kahn.  There he was exposed to the philosophies and underlying methods to making fine art, allowing him to further mature as an artist.

Using colors that are harmonious and tranquil to bright and energetic, Ken’s range of pallets beautifully expresses the fiery colors of autumn, the grandness of a sunset, the quiet of a valley or an intimate wood. Influenced by impressionism and fauvism, Ken’s work contains a full array of brilliant clear colors and patterned imagery, yet they still have a soft edge of impressionism to them. For Ken, composition, color, and an element of truth are the substance of his work.

Ken enjoys working in oil, pastel, and the unique process of monotypes. Ken also has several of his images available in limited edition giclée prints.  He is very meticulous in their production so that each print carries the beauty and elegance of an original.

Ken has worked in Texas, California, New Mexico, and photographed in Europe.  Now he enjoys working and living in Colorado where he is inspired by beautiful landscapes and four full seasons.

Ken also exhibits in New York, California, New Mexico, Colorado, Georgia, and Connecticut.
Website at: www.kenelliott.com
 

AUTUMN DANCE II
oil on canvas, 48 x 48



GREEN WAVE
oil on canvas, 40 X 40



RED WALL AT THE CREEK
oil on canvas, 48 x 48



WHITE WOOD
oil on canvas, 36 X 48



YELLOW DANCE
48 x 60 inches



SUNSET IN ORANGE & PINK
30 X 30 inches



Red Wall at the Lake
pastel


Gold and Blue Dance
pastel




SUNSET FRAGMENT
48 x 48 inches



GOLD CASCADE
oil on canvas, 40 x 40