Today we’d like to introduce you to Ken Forbes.

Hi Ken, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?

For most of my life, I actually couldn’t draw to save my life. I’ve lived a lot of lives – assistant chef, helped open a couple restaurants, stock broker and financial advisor, model and award winning actor, writer – and painter was really only one of the more recent ones. I took freshman art my senior year of high school. My class was just me and a bunch of guys in gangs. At the beginning of the day, I would go to my art teacher and ask him, ‘Do you need me around today?’ He’d usually reply, ‘No it’s okay.’ And I’d go home and play Xbox. Needless to say, my art skills didn’t really develop then.
For fun, I used to go around the city and take photos of street art. A woman I was seeing at the time had studied Art and one day gave me her supplies and told me to make my own. I laughed, knowing that I had, at best, stick-figures to offer should I attempt something. Much to my surprise, whilst on a beach on vacation with some friends, someone brought some art supplies, and we all began to paint. When I finished mine, someone had said, “wow I didn’t know you were an artist?” And surprised, I said, “yeah neither did I!” And the journey started from there.
This was around 2016 and the changes in the sociopolitical climate were emotionally and mentally taking a very big toll on me. I recall speaking to my best friend who is a cardiologist. This was right around the time of the Muslim ban. One of his fellow surgeons was of Iraqi descent and was just visiting some family in Iraq when the ban hit. He was having difficulty getting back into the country to perform life-saving surgery for his patients. I recall speaking on my phone with my mother, crying, sobbing in fear of what was in store for the country and the people in it. I soon found that Art was my therapy and my way to get my frustrations and fear out of me – and more importantly, it was a conduit to have conversations that were much needed and became a way of healing for myself and those around me.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

The road to where I am today has been anything but smooth. Changing career paths, let alone committing to one as unstable as Painting has certainly been a challenge.
At various points, I was beyond broke. I was unemployed, couch surfing, and virtually homeless. In the various careers I had, I had to face a lot of racial discrimination, which led to legal battles as well, and all of this can play a heavy toll on one’s heart and mind.
In my personal life, I had to deal with some stalkers and death threats, as well on a daily basis. In a way, I feel like Art and faith in God, the universe and my own capabilities really saved my life.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?

I specialize in painting cubist abstract expressionist artworks, and I use a basecoat of coffee and cacao for my canvases. I use primarily shades of brown as well. I do this as an homage to my culture and that of black and brown people. Additionally, I want to symbolize how at the base of who we are as humans, is that we are all nothing more than different shades of brown. I want people to look at the scenes in my artworks and ask: what happened before this scene? Why is this like this now? And what will it be like in the future? I want these artworks to tell stories and allow people to tell their own stories and perspectives. In sharing these perspectives, we can share empathy and realize that we aren’t so different from one another. Even though we have all had different experiences, we’ve all shared the same feelings and once we can get this realization, we will hopefully stop being such assholes to each other.

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?

Most people don’t know or realize that I usually paint whatever is on my heart or mind at the time. So if you look at my paintings, it’s almost like looking directly into my journal. Each painting is like a different anecdote or story of my life (or about a story that someone has shared with me whose voice I wanted to amplify.)
For example, I have a painting called ‘The Game’, which features a father playing a game with his little boy. I made this after visiting my parents and reflecting on what it was like for them to raise me. My parents both worked very hard to provide a childhood that they couldn’t have themselves. My father was always worked weekends and late nights, but despite his hours or how tired he may be, he promised and always followed through that every night he would dedicate 30 minutes for me to spend time with him alone and play a game of my choosing. He did this every single night for years without fail. His father wasn’t around for him growing up and so it was hard for him to verbally say things like ‘I love you.’ However, I always knew he loved me because he showed it, and the consistency, trust, and faith that he gave me through The Game, showed me what it was like to experience that kind of love.

Pricing:

• Smaller works 16”x20” – 500
• Medium Works – 1500 to 2500
• Large Works – 2500 to 5000
• Extra Large Works and Murals – 8000 and up
• Commissions – Available Upon Request

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Kenforbesart.com
• Instagram: @kenforbesart