I have always been interested in landscape, probably from having grown up in Alaska. More specifically, my interest in mountain landscapes is no doubt linked to my experiences backpacking and climbing.

I came to painting rather late, picking it up again in 1980 after pursuing an interest in photography and film that had led me into a career in museum work. Initially, my work was focused on real places, but gradually, as my involvement in the painting process deepened, I found I needed to escape the more superficial demands of representation in order to explore a picture’s other qualities.

My landscapes now are completely made up, painted in the studio without direct reference to a particular scene. Some have developed from mental impressions I have of real places, others are in response to other paintings, some mine, some by other artists.

I try not to pre-determine the degree of abstraction in a piece, but rather let the painting process determine that. While the idea of an image provides a starting point or a context, I am primarily concerned with the structure of the painting, how the shapes, colors and textures relate. These are what create life in a painting.

Ken DeRoux

Written for Artists Register.com       

 ©2002 Kenneth DeRoux