As a boy growing up in southern California, Ken loved to draw and paint–but his real obsession was nature. He was especially entranced by the desert, a fascination that stayed with him into adulthood and eventually led to a fifteen-year career with Tucson’s Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, where he served as Director of Design & Planning. However, a rekindled interest in art gradually grew from a hobby into a second career, and in March 2007 he left the museum to paint full-time.
Education: In addition to plein air workshops from various artists, Ken has taken courses in sculpting, drawing, and painting from San Bernardino Community College, Brigham Young University, and the University of Utah. He earned a B.S. in Landscape Architecture (University of California, Davis), and an M.S. in Geographic Information Systems Technology (University of Arizona).
He was featured in Western Art Collector (April 2008 “Ken Stockton — Arid Edens” pp 98-107) and his work has also appeared in Southwest Art Magazine (February 2005 “Artists to Watch“). Another article in Western Art Collector (November 2008 “Group Shows: The Great American West” pp 102-111) included one of his pieces as well. Most of Ken’s paintings depict natural or rural landscapes of the western United States, with special emphasis on the Sonoran and Mojave Deserts.
Ken’s work has appeared in more than 50 local and national exhibitions, as well as galleries in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, and online.