Take a look at Ken Meyer's website and you'll find portraits done in beautiful, vivid water colors. You'll find work he's done for comics, paintings of musicians, sports heroes, and even a politician or two. You’ll also find that what he can do with a brush is nothing short of awe inspiring. Ken agreed to let me interview him, so continue reading to find out what interests and inspires him.
Grace Going Down
Stacy: When did you first begin painting? How long have you considered yourself an artist?
Ken: Well, I think I started really painting (that is, not filling in areas around line-work, but strict painting) sometime around '89 or so. I think I would consider myself an artist from when I was a kid, when I was pretty sure this is what I wanted to do as an avocation. I sat at my grandmother's kitchen table and traced comic books as a kid, and that started everything else.
Stacy: What artists have influenced your work, and how?
Ken: It is a looooong list. Early on, in high school, I liked artists like Michelangelo and El Greco, but right alongside that were comic artists like John Buscema, Jack Kirby, Barry Smith, Mike Kaluta, Berni Wrightson (and later, artists like Jaime Hernandez, Steve Rude, Dave McKean and many, many others). In my college years, I started to really notice commercial illustrators like Jim Sharpe, Bob Peak, Mark English, Bernie Fuchs and others. I had a little album at one time with collected TV guide covers by Amsel, Struzan and the like, along with pieces from various magazines.
The comic artists, especially people like Rude and Dave Sim, along with Frank Miller, influenced my awareness of layouts, storytelling, composition and how to arrange elements on a page. The commercial illustrators mainly frustrated me, because I could never imagine becoming as good as they are…still can't, in most cases. I did, though, study techniques. There was a great magazine in the 80's and 90's called Step by Step graphics that had, well, step by step processes from many great illustrators. That helped too.
Jimi
Stacy: Looking at your art, it's obvious that you draw inspiration from music. What else inspires you to create?
Ken: Mainly other artists, I think…and the inevitable stack of bills I have to help to pay. Nature, like many artists, inspires me as well. The human figure, dramatic lighting…it all plays a part.
Stacy: What is your favorite medium to work with?
Ken: Watercolor, by and large. I would really like to learn acrylic and oil, though, and am taking little steps to do so (the classes I am taking at the Savannah College of Art and Design help in this quest).
Stacy: What other interests do you have?
Ken: Well, music of course. I am on a mission to have the largest collection of cds in the world…and you, dear audience, can help! I read when I can, usually either fiction by people like Stephen King, Clive Barker, Chuck Palahnuik, John Irving, or books about music or film. I play tennis whenever I can, on teams, in tournaments, etc…not as much as I used to, since family obligations fill up much of my time. Mostly music, though.
Stacy: Which of your paintings is your favorite, and why?
Ken: Boy, that is a hard question….I don't think I can answer it, to be honest, since I like different pieces for different reasons. An older piece like Sunday Morning is one of my favorites, because of the simplicity and looseness of it. A recent one, An Eye for an Eye, I like, since it is a big piece and had it's own problems to solve…and has a little political content as well. Lately, if I do one that has some experimental element, like a new medium, and it succeeds, then that becomes a favorite at least for awhile.
Stacy: What advice would you give to artists who are just starting out?
Ken: Well, the usual advice to draw whatever and wherever/whenever you can. Draw from live, outdoors, even photos if you have to…keep a sketchbook where you can just doodle, work out ideas, experiment with various media, etc. Keep a file of references, various categories…I have a huge one. Look at other artists for inspiration. Feel free to copy their methods until you understand them…then apply them to your style. Take advice wherever you can, but feel free to follow your own muse if it is contrary to that advice.
Sunday Morning