Ken Corbett

Ken’s art has been influenced by many artists over the last twenty years.  Some have been teachers from school and seminars that he has attended.  Others have been artists of different subject matter that covers the whole history of painting.   Artists from Hans Holbein to Nancy Glazier, he has admired or tried to emulate in one way or another.

He loves to study art of all kinds but classical realism from the mid 1800’s to the early 1900’s, is to him, the greatest art produced. This is the art he hopes to emulate.  He believes artists like William Bougeuroeau or Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema and many other lesser-known artists from that period were the greatest of all time.

His interest in art subjects varies from portraiture to landscape and from religious to patriotic art.  He has had success in all these areas.  Ken has a passion for creating beauty.  He said: “There is something exciting and wonderful about making an idea come to life through colors and shapes.  It seems that if I am not working on a painting that I’m a little lost or depressed.  But when there is an idea I am working on, it occupies all of my thoughts. After a day of painting, I am exhausted even though there is no manual labor involved.”

Ken’s wife and seven kids are a great inspiration to him.  They model for him and encourage him to do his best and follow his life’s dream.  He feels that without them he could not reach his potential.

Ken’s art is part of many public and private collections.  For the last 19 years Ken has painted well over 200 portraits.  He has had the privilege of painting many great people. Painting from life and the discipline of portraiture has been invaluable to him in improving his drawing and painting skills. 

Ken did not attend regular art school but learned to paint and compose a picture through his personal study of art.  Drawing came easy for him.  He learned composition, technique, and color, by studying the masters.  Since 1998, painting has been Ken’s fulltime career.  For eleven years prior, he served the City of Salt Lake as a firefighter and mastered his art in his time off.  When he left the fire department and was able to paint fulltime he felt like he had completed a long internship.  Although there is not a diploma hanging on the wall, in its place is a love of art and a burning inside to be the best artist God will allow Ken Corbett to be.