Ken Karlic
I refer to my work as sophisticated chaos, where a structured drawing gives way to an expressive painting to create a beautiful mess. I'm drawn to scenes of complex forms, finding beauty in the city and land of everyday life. I strive to express how something feels as much as how it looks, and to capture the physicality of a subject with bold brushwork and rich textures. My paintings have a basis in the representational but often dissolve into varying levels of abstraction. My approach is as much a part of the work as the subject, with marks, scratches, drips and splatters all becoming part of the final piece, creating a very physical presence.
Three of a Kind
24 x 30
Oil
$3600
Flora Fiesta
24 x 24
Oil
$2800
Gold Rush
30 x 24
Oil
$3600
A Blue View
24 x 24
Oil
$2800
Fuchsia
24 x 24
Oil
$2800
Red Rooster
10 x 20
Oil
$1850
Turn to the Left
12 x 12
Oil
$1200
Yellow
6 x 8
Oil
$750
Everflow
20 x 10
oil
$1700
Turquoise
24 x 24
Oil
Ken Karlic
The world is not all sunny days and green pastures, as plein air painters are well aware. To the keen eye of an artist, the rough edges of concrete and iron are not blemishes to be avoided -they are to be embraced. In spontaneous brushstrokes and textures Ken Karlic's art finds beauty in the scaffolds, rigging and taillights of everyday life.
Ken received his early artistic training in architecture and graphic design at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. Ken is a founding partner of the Baltimore area firm Splice Design Group, with clients including the Guggenheim Foundation and Smithsonian Institution. He is an instructor at Chesapeake Fine Art Studio in Stevensville MD and a member of the Mid-Atlantic Plein Air Painters Association (MAPAPA). He is a Signature Artist Member of the Baltimore Watercolor Society and a Signature Artist Member of the Noyes Museum of Art at Stockton University in New Jersey.