You cannot separate Ken Auster, the surfer, from Ken Auster, the artist. Ken grew up in Long Beach, California with his feet deeply planted in the 1960s surfing culture. While at University, Ken built a silkscreen and t-shirt company, creating now-legendary surf art that adorned surfers from Belmont Shores, California to Hawaii to Mexico. At the heart of Ken’s work was always the awareness of the fine line between man-made and nature. In the mid-1990s, Ken moved to oil paints, throwing himself into the splendor of “plein air” (on location) painting. In doing so, Ken discovered the richness and broad colors of the city life he long avoided. As he will tell you, he rejoiced in this newfound ability to paint anything and everything — cafes, train stations, airports, street scenes, and of course, never far away, was the beach, his first love. Renowned for his classic surf art, Ken Auster sees and paints a bold, dynamically changing world, sharing uncomplicated but moving stories on canvas — simply and effectively, documenting the ordinary in an unordinary manner. RIP, Ken (2016)
