KenSwinson.com

Author: Ken

  • Brushwork on Pottery

    You might remember a couple of months ago I made a bunch of forms during the spring pentaculum residency at Arrowmont?

    I’ve been blocked, and unable to finish them because they have already been fired. My normal technique is to decorate while the clay is still wet–allowing me to carve and scratch and inlay the surface.

    With a fired pot, I have less options-the obvious one is to brush underglaze designs, which is a little bit out of my comfort zone.

    After a few hours of painting, I gotten into a flow of using just underglaze and a brush–instead of carving, and I’m really happy with the surface designs I’ve created so far!

    stay tuned to see the cups after the final glaze firing!

  • Updates from the clay studio-sugar bowl lids

    I’m getting ready to take a teapot workshop with Yoko Sekino-Bové at Arrowmont later this month. I’ve been making a LOT of cups recently, so I’m confident making handles, but a TEAPOT has more than just a handle.

    I want to improve my LIDS, and thought sugar/salt/jelly/honey/spice jars are the perfect way to practice.

    All of these jars are unfired, but the surface design is finished. I learned a lot with the first grouping. and feel more confident making a flanged lid.

    I’m looking forward to firing these pots soon. Will update when they are ready!

    stay tuned!

  • Flower Paint day with Rob and Dawn in Old Washington

    I like to meet friends to paint on wednesdays. it’s been too hot to paint outside, so we have been painting florals.

    kentucky artist, ken swinson painting a floral arrangement

    I have always painted from life using the ‘indirect painting method’, where I have a monochrome underpainting, to establish values, then cover it with color after the values are all worked out. I like that style and separating the two (value and color) but with oils, the underpainting will soften the vibrance of the colors. I like that effect for most subjects, but flowers are all about the COLOR, and I wanted to try and make my colors brighter.

    I decided to paint small, so that I could learn the new technique fast. Here is my first painting of hibiscus flowers.
    It felt very strange to work on a white panel, mixing color and value at the same time, but I’m happy with how it turned out!

    my second painting was of an arrangement with butterfly bush and queen anne’s lace. Now that I am over the shock of mixing and applying paint different, I’m excited to keep exploring this technique!

    My friends:

    Rob Weingartner

    Dawn Kincaid

    Thanks so much Dawn, for putting the beautiful still lives together–and thanks both of you for the wonderful day of painting!!!

  • Kiln Firing 26 June 2024

    I wanted to get test results for some new colors, and decided it was a good excuse to fire up my smaller kiln.

    here are the results
    As a bonus, I have 8 new cups as well!

    Use the arrows or swipe to see all the pots in the slideshow

    They will be available to see in person this FRIDAY at the Pendleton Art Center’s FINAL FRIDAY EVENT.

    Hope to see you there!

    • Handmade, wheel thrown porcelain cup by Kentucky artist, Ken Swinson with a birds on the exterior, a bear picking cherries on the interior
      Peek A Boo Cherry Cup 1
    • Handmade, wheel thrown porcelain cup by Kentucky artist, Ken Swinson with a birds on the exterior, a goat eating cherries on the interior
      Peek A Boo Goat Cup
    • Handmade, wheel thrown porcelain cup by Kentucky artist, Ken Swinson with a birds on the exterior, a bear picking cherries on the interior
      Peek A Boo Cherry Cup 2
    • Handmade, wheel thrown porcelain cup by Kentucky artist, Ken Swinson with 3 chickens eating cherries around the exterior of the cup
      Chicken Cherry Cup
    • Handmade, wheel thrown porcelain cup by Kentucky artist, Ken Swinson with 3 cats riding bicycles around the cup exterior
      Bike Cat Cup
    • Handmade, wheel thrown porcelain cup by Kentucky artist, Ken Swinson with a cat holding camera surface design
      photo Cat Cup
    • Handmade, wheel thrown porcelain cup by Kentucky artist, Ken Swinson with a bear making pottery and painting a cup
      Pottery Bear Cup
    • Handmade, wheel thrown porcelain cup by Kentucky artist, Ken Swinson with a a male and female deer eating acrons
      Stag And Doe Acorn Cup

  • Kiln Firing 21 June 2024

    This morning, I just unloaded a batch of new black, white and red porcelain cups and bowls.
    There are so many pots, I have organized it into 3 slideshows.
    Swipe or use the arrows to see all the pottery from each category

    black white and red porcelain cups- $55-65 each

    • A wheel thrown porcelain cappuccino cup made by Kentucky artist, ken swinson-the bowl is decorated with black, white and red sgraffito design of birds eating cherrieson the exterior. the interior has a deer eating red cherries
      deer Cappuccino Cup
    • A wheel thrown porcelain cappuccino cup made by Kentucky artist, ken swinson-the bowl is decorated with black, white and red sgraffito design of birds eating cherries on the exterior. the interior has a bunny eating red cherries
      bunny Cappuccino Cup
    • A wheel thrown porcelain cappuccino cup made by Kentucky artist, ken swinson-the bowl is decorated with black, white and red sgraffito design of a bear picking cherries.
      Bear Color Cherry Cup 1
    • A wheel thrown porcelain cappuccino cup made by Kentucky artist, ken swinson-the bowl is decorated with black, white and red sgraffito design of a fox under a cherry tree.
      fox cherry Cup 1
    • A wheel thrown porcelain cappuccino cup made by Kentucky artist, ken swinson-the bowl is decorated with black, white and red sgraffito design of a goat eating cherries.
      Goat Cherry Color Cup
    • A wheel thrown porcelain cappuccino cup made by Kentucky artist, ken swinson-the bowl is decorated with black, white and red sgraffito design of a bear picking cherries.
      bear Cherry Cup 2
    • A wheel thrown porcelain cappuccino cup made by Kentucky artist, ken swinson-the bowl is decorated with black, white and red sgraffito design of a fox under a cherry tree.
      fox Cherry Cup 2
    • A wheel thrown porcelain cappuccino cup made by Kentucky artist, ken swinson-the bowl is decorated with black, white and red sgraffito design of deer eating cherries under a cherry tree.
      deer Color Cherry-cup
    • A wheel thrown porcelain cappuccino cup made by Kentucky artist, ken swinson-the bowl is decorated with black, white and red sgraffito design of cardinals in a cherry tree.
      cardinal Cup

    black white and red porcelain bowls – $70 each

    • A wheel thrown porcelain bowl made by Kentucky artist, ken swinson-the bowl is decorated with black and white sgraffito design of deer eating cherries from a cherry tree on the exterior. the interior has a birds and red cherries
      Deer Cherry Bowl
    • A wheel thrown porcelain bowl with black and white sgraffito design of birds on a cherry tree on the exterior. the interior has a bear picking red cherries
      Bear Cherry Bowl 1
    • A wheel thrown porcelain bowl made by Kentucky artist, ken swinson-the bowl is decorated with black and white sgraffito design of birds on a cherry tree on the exterior. the interior has a bird eating red cherries
      bird Cherry Bowl
    • A wheel thrown porcelain bowl made by Kentucky artist, ken swinson-the bowl is decorated with black and white sgraffito design of bears picking cherries on the exterior. the interior has birds eating red cherries
      Exterior Bear Cherry Bowl
    • A wheel thrown porcelain bowl made by Kentucky artist, ken swinson-the bowl is decorated with black and white sgraffito design of cherries on the exterior. the interior has a goat eating cherries
      Goat Cherry Bowl
    • A wheel thrown porcelain bowl made by Kentucky artist, ken swinson-the bowl is decorated with black and white sgraffito design of cherries on the exterior. the interior has a bear and red cherries
      Bear Cherry Bowl 2

    black and white sgraffito porcelain cups – $50 each

    • A wheel thrown porcelain cup with black and white sgraffito design of a cat surrounded by flowers
      wavy Cherry Cup
    • A wheel thrown porcelain cup with black and white sgraffito design of two deer eating cherries from a tree
      deer Eating Cherries cup 3
    • A wheel thrown porcelain cup with black and white sgraffito design of a cat surrounded by flowers
      cat And Flowers Cup
    • A wheel thrown porcelain cup with black and white sgraffito design of two deer eating cherries from a tree
      deer Eating Cherries Cup 2
    • A wheel thrown porcelain cup with black and white sgraffito design of a goat eating cherries
      Goat Eating Cherries Cup 1
    • A wheel thrown porcelain cup with black and white sgraffito design of two deer eating cherries from a tree
      deer Eating Cherries Cup

    I only do in-person sales with pottery. I want you to have a chance to hold your pot before deciding whether to take it home or not. Contact Ken for more information on when and where to see this work in person.

  • Cappuccino Cup Update

    More is more, Right?

    Update on my cappuccino cups. Couldn’t help decorating the interior and exterior—really can’t wait to see how they turn out 🙂

    interior of Cappuccino cup
    exterior of cappuccino cup

  • Clay studio update – 16 June 2024

    It’s pottery season, so I’ve been busy, here’s a little peek at whats been happening in the clay studio:

    I’ve been experimenting with new ways to decorate the surface of my pottery. In particular, I want to carve designs and have more than one color

    a group of work in progress porcelain pottery cups. The forms are upside down, four are trimmed, three are untrimmed
    work in progress forms without handles in various stages of trimming
    4 work in progress cups: a goat, bear, deer and fox eating cherries from a tree

    these work in progress cups have painted patterns (3 coats each) and then are carved for more details

    two unfired porcelain cups with a cardinal and bear picking cherries

    More designs with this technique. I have started to carve into ‘unpainted’ clay in hopes of a variety in the surface once glazed

    a photo of eight hand thrown porcelain cups. The handles are rather well attached, considering the artist has spent the last year or two improving his cup handles. There is a wheel in the background.

    I just finished assembling these cappuccino or soup style cups. Looking forward to decorating them. The interior is wide enough, there is an opportunity for some artwork!

    We are at the beginning of a heatwave here in Kentucky, a great time to work inside and make pots, so stay tuned!

  • Old Washington Paint Group – Larkspur

    Todays model for our paint group in Old Washington was an old watering can with Larkspur. It’s always fun to paint with a group–not just for the company and feedback, but also to see how each artist interprets the subject.

    3 artists holding paintings of larkspur
    Ken Swinson, Taliah Rey + Dawn Kincaid (left to right)

    For this painting, i tried something a little bit different: compressing the values, and only using 3 colors: prussian blue, quinacridone magenta and cadmium yellow light + titanium white. I’m really happy with how it turned out!


    This is painted from life and direct observation: no cameras, transfers, computers, ai–I think it would qualify to go in my ‘plein air’ gallery. Will decide once it’s dry and framed 🙂

  • Cincinnati Art Club Sketch group 10 June 2024

    I’ve been drawing from life at the Cincinnati Art Club. I don’t particularly want to draw portraits or figures for my studio work, but the human form is a great way to fine tune my craftsmanship. Working from life (no cameras, computers, Ai) makes it even more of a challenge.

    Im noticing that the figure is a bigger challenge for me than a portrait. There are so many things to get right in a figure–one thing slightly ‘off’ and it throws the whole drawing off.

    beginning of a charcoal drawing of a man

    The measurements were so ‘off’ from the first session, I decided to wipe the drawing away and start over

    work in progress photo of a drawing of a man

    in the second session, the measurements were a little better, but I’m struggling with foreshortening: when parts of the body go forward or back into space

    work in progress of a charcoal drawing of a man

    at the end of the third session, i stopped trying to get every measurement perfect, and get the drawing together.

    work in progress drawing of a barefoot man sitting

    at the end of the final session, I wasn’t completely happy with the figure, but it was a great learning experience!

  • Website Updates

    I have had some feedback that my website needed some attention, and the job is so overwhelming to think about, I have’Quietly’ been making some updates to the website.

    Most recently: A gallery of plein air paintings from this spring, which you can see by clicking below

    I also added photos of the pottery from my most recent kiln firing. Click below to view:

    I recently made a commitment to log out from social media -and to check in only one day each week. My goal is to spend more computer time working on this site-and less hanging out on the socials.

    I’m actively working on the site, so please feel free to comment with suggestions of what you would like to see on this website in the future.
    Thanks for all your support and hanging in there with me!
    Ken