Sports Artist Spotlight: Ken Karl
Working with colored pencil and marker, Ken Karl captures the emotion of sports, with realism and a unique style.
“I hope collectors and fans enjoy looking at my artwork,” he says. “I love sports and art as much as they do. My goal [with each piece] is to show the love I have for sports and feel the pas-sion in each one of my pieces.”
As a middle school-aged young teen, Ken would spend a couple of weeks each summer at his grandparents’ home. The town was small, so options were limited on things to do. But trips to the local dime store landed comics and baseball cards. He would read the comics and look at the cards, then try to draw the images.
Like so many others, Ken was inspired by the art he saw in Beckett titles. “I loved the artists and artwork I would see in those magazines,” he says. “At that point I stopped drawing super heroes and began drawing my favorite athletes. I could not believe how good those artists were.”
Most of Ken’s works are com-missioned by private collectors. He has done some commercial work with Stan the Man, Inc., the Missouri Athletic Club and Beckett Media.
“I’m just an average guy who has loved sports his whole life,” Karl says. “I was never good enough to play them at a high level. So instead of inspiring the world with my athletic ability, I chose to draw those who inspire me.”
Website: KenKarlSportsArt.com
