Ken Cro-Ken

When one thinks of earthwork art, the first thing that comes to mind would be: soil, rocks, branches or other tangible earth materials but the greater part of my attention is with the invisible / unseen forces that shape and mold all things. My paintings are made in above and below freezing, high and low altitude and I must become more sensitive to things outside myself. I take my rightful place and follow nature's lead; and learn to strike a balance between my inner and outer self. Things are revealed to me through paint experiments that cannot be discovered by any other means. This is a real and unique relationship. And, though realism and abstraction have a place with this art but greater focus is placed on creating a direct relationship with the actual and the strength this triad offers. In other words, this is a physical investigation of this planet using paint as my translator and mediator with our world. The result is that I learn about paint and our planet simultaneously.

After ten years of painting in many styles I felt a need to question everything, right down to the materials I was using. It was my third year of college in 1980 when I stumbled on the palette that I continue to develop today; SPEED ELEMENTS. I set my Speed Element paints into motion to mimic the push-pull forces and create satellite and microscopic views of the earth and places scattered throughout the universe. These paintings are abstracts waiting to be called realistic, when technology “catches up”. Just as important as showing how space looks but also how it moves.