By Bonnie Gangelhoff
When Ken Sullivan was growing up in Texas, he was fond of drawing horses and fashioning model soldiers from putty and epoxy. He eventually put aside his childhood interests, graduated with a degree in economics from Texas A&M University in College Station, TX, and went on to pursue a career in the oil business. But in early 2002 he took a sculpting workshop with Mehl Lawson, and a new chapter in his life began. “I thought to myself that this is what I love to do,” Sullivan says. “In a few years I would turn 40, and I thought I better do this now or I won’t ever do it again.” The mid-life crisis move has paid handsome dividends, he says.
Last year the Colorado-based sculptor was asked to participate in the annual Best and Brightest Show at the Scottsdale Artists’ School in Arizona, and in August Sullivan displays his western bronzes for the first time at the prestigious Sculpture in the Park show in Loveland, CO. The sculptor’s depictions of various icons of the West are inspired by noted western artists such as Charles Russell and Frederic Remington as well as heroic images portrayed through-out history. In each piece, Sullivan says, he strives to capture the feeling of a distinct moment and place, rich in detail and full of spirit. Sullivan is represented by www.kensullivanfineart.com; Mudhead Gallery, Denver, CO; and Prellop Fine Art Gallery, Salado, TX.
Featured in “Artist to Watch” July 2004