August 2021
A Gorgeous Day at the Harbor, Ken DeWaard, Oil on Canvas, 24" x 48", $5,400
Snug as a Bug, Ryan Kohler, Mixed Media, 20 x 30 inches, $1,500 (SOLD)
Camden Falls Gallery’s new exhibit, “Conflicts in Compositions?”, features the works of Ken DeWaard and Ryan Kohler. The show will open Thursday August 19th at 5 p.m.in conjunction with the first (Camden Art Walk) and run through September 15th, 2021.
There is really no conflict involved in the show, it’s more of a juxtaposition of the paths these two artists travel creating their artwork. Perhaps best typified in the last three lines of Robert Frost’s poem The Road Not Taken,
...Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
A person becoming a professional artist is definitely on a road less traveled. This show should shed some light on an artist's insight when first being moved by a muse they find inspirational, enough to record it on canvas in their own personal way.
“If traveling together Ken and Ryan most likely would stay on the same road to harvest its rewards, as there is a camaraderie and friendship between fellow artists and combined passions that escalates profusely when the easels go up and the brushes come out.
As a group, all of our artists have followed their own paths in finding their personal creativity. It is an honor and unabating pleasure to represent these artists at Camden Falls Gallery.
Contrast is found in the pursuit of artistic professionalism, Ken’s path being long and varied Ryans emerging and evolving.
Ryan Kohler who lives in Skowhegan Maine has had a shorter run in the art field but it’s really quite impressive. Since graduating with a BA in art from the University of Maine Augusta in 2011. Ryan started seriously working in oils in 2018 just prior to joining the gallery.
“We have marveled and enjoyed each set of turns and developments that Ryan has worked into the process of his paintings. Exploring a wide range of subject matter his designs and executions have broadened this past winter to include the addition and application of colored paper in collage format as if brushstrokes. This creative use of paper in the finished painting adds volume, texture and value to the composition.
Ryan’s new works are bright, lively and fun, engaging the viewer with the possibilities of what it is that they are actually looking at. I’d like to think that when Ryan is painting he has his subject matter and a good idea of what he is going for, but there has to be times when the delight of the process takes over and actually takes Ryan for a ride.”HJG*
"I’ve always liked puzzles, and now my paintings are a bit like puzzles to me, except I get to make my own pieces, and they don’t have to fit exactly. In fact, things are much more interesting when I am imprecise, but in a fun and still descriptive way. Charmingly incorrect is what I’ve been shooting for with this entire body of work. When I am being too literal and too careful with my cutting and gluing, the paintings don’t breathe as well and feel uptight and labored" Ryan Kohler
Ken DeWaard has over 30 years of studying and teaching art and painting professionally around the world. Ken has painted throughout Europe and China and in 2019 Ken participated in “The International Plein Air Competition” in St. Petersburg, Russia Ken was one of the 11 artists chosen to paint at the “Saint Petersburg Art Week International” which represented artwork from over 20 countries.
From all of these painting excursions Ken brings his talents en plein air painting to the forefront but returns home, bringing with him the influences, techniques and styles of various artists from around the world.
In his travels throughout the U.S. Ken has taken top honors in some of the country's most prestigious plein air events. Including the Charles Movalli award in 2018 at the Cape Ann Plein Air event and winning First Place in 2019 at the same event.
Ken describes his work as follows. “My style isn’t exactly loose but more of a definitely placed stroke (be it a suggested stroke). I'm not trying to give all the details but enough to where the viewer can finish the story in their mind and through their experiences.The term “bravura'' is used when something is more confidently placed. Think of it as mark making; making a mark or a note of color and standing behind it, not fussing around with it ala Renoir but more directly placed not happenstance. Design is incredibly important to me. To tell a story through my work and lead the viewer around the painting and then back to the focal point; having a narrative”.
>See all of Ken DeWaard's works
>See all of Ryan Kohler's works
