About The Artist
Artist Statement - Serious Art With A Sense Of Humor
I would describe my body of work as serious art with a sense of humor. I observe few boundaries on subject matter which ranges from photo realistic renditions to geometric abstraction to the frivolous and cartoonish. Though not all pieces are offered in a humorous light, a good many are. It is a staple of fine art shows, even in a culture that accepts art produced not just by the human species but by chimps, elephants, dolphins and who knows what other life forms, to request an artist statement as part of the application process. Given that these other species artists are never, to my knowledge, asked to provide an artist statement, and given that the works of these other species artists frequently command higher prices for their work than I get for mine, then, if there is any statement that I feel compelled to make, it is that, as an artist one must have a sense of humor about one's work. Thus one might find their human distinction from the animal world.
Biography:
Steven Keller (Skoalar) first started painting in oils in the mid 1970s. Keller is a resident of Indianapolis Indiana and a graduate of Indiana University, where in 1971 he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with majors in mathematics and astronomy. For a period of 7 years in the late 70s he painted as a part time occupation, selling his work at art fairs in the Indianapolis area. In 1980 he enrolled at a local community college in a two-year drafting program and began a twenty-year career as an industrial draftsman. During this period he did not paint. In early 1999 at the age of 50. Keller left his career in drafting and took up oil painting once again. Since then he has shown his work in galleries and coffeehouses and art fairs in the Indianapolis area.
Technique:
Myunique style of painting begins with a pencil sketch that I work out in detail using the traditional tools of the draftsman; compass, straight edge and French curve. I apply the paint with a very small round brush. The paint is mixed down to consistency of thick cream so that it is as much sculpted onto the canvas as it is painted. This is how I achieve the characteristic textured surface.began experimenting with this style of painting during the late 1970s and have perfected it only since I started painting again in the last few years. The subject matter in my paintings varies over a wide range of themes drawing from subjects in science, mythology, and popular culture. A large number of my pieces though are set in an urban landscape.