Kent Lovelace
American Artist, Lithographer, and Builder : 1953-2017

Kent was born on the East Coast and raised in the West near San Francisco. He received his MFA at the University of Washington and has made Seattle and Whidbey Island his home since.

 

In 1979 Kent founded the fine art gallery and print publishing workshop Stone Press Editions. The Seattle gallery featured the printmakers of North American, Japan and Europe. 

 

The print shop collaborated with both regional and nationally recognized artists to create hand-printed original editions.Kent worked with Jacob Lawrence, Robert Bateman, Dale Chihuly Paul Horiuchi, and Norie Sato, among others. Artwork was created for the Smithsonian, the NAACP, the Seattle Art Museum, Mill Pond Press, Pilchuck and other clients. As the business grew he continued to develop his own art, creating  original lithographs and watercolors.   His primary focus has been painting since 2001. 

 

Kent is currently utilizing the technique of painting  oil on copper to create his landscape and figurative paintings. Oil on copper was originally developed as a painting technique in the 16th century and used by the European artists Rembrandt, El Greco and Frans Hals.  In contemporary practice copper is chosen for its luminous surface potential and excellent archival properties. Employing the lustrous and reflective copper surface Kent uses a translucent paint allowing the warm metal hue to permeate his imagery.

 

Of his painting Kent finds nature a primary source of inspiration but offers a personal interpretation of the experience of nature rather than a realistic copy.

 

On Whidbey Island Kent has built a studio and house on ten acres in a park like setting surrounded by hundred year old fir trees, gardens, and a winter pond. Quiet, secluded and light bathed; its native plants, wildlife and the hillside create an environment conducive to focused creativity.

 

Galleries in Seattle, Santa Fe and other U.S. cities represent Kents’ artwork. His paintings have been featured in multiple books and fine art publications and have been acquired by hundreds of private, corporate and public art collections.