About Steve
Steve Kenna - Award winning artist and Academician of the South West Academy of Fine and Applied Art(SWAc).
This January 2024, Steve is delighted to have been selected to be an 'Academician' of the South West Academy of Fine and Applied Arts (SWAc) which is a great honor.
Following this, in March, Steve was delighted to be awarded the prestigious 'Best in Colour Award' by the 'Society of Graphic Fine Arts' and the Royal Drawing School for one of his paintings in their 103rd Open Exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London.
In the last decade Steve has intensified his exploration and practice of painting in oils, acrylics, and watercolour. These mediums bring to the surface Steve’s principal strength, his draughtsmanship and his unique and varied mark making.
Currently established as a professional artist and tutor, Steve’s practice also embraces print-making techniques of copper and aluminium etching, contemporary polymer gravure etching, dynamic monotype printing and Gold Leaf/ gilding works.
In his exploration of various ‘ancient’ printing and gilding traditions, he has ensured that he works predominantly within contemporary ‘non-toxic’ processes.
Working from his studios in the beautiful Devon coastal town of Salcombe, Steve is surrounded by a constant source of inspiration and many of his maritime scenes are drawn directly from his experience and knowledge of this uniquely beautiful place. However, inspiration is more often drawn directly from the rawness, fluidity, and evanescence of the changing coastal environment.
In terms of ‘style’, though his work is often seen as eclectic, Steve’s practice is clearly drawn from various schools of art centering on the art traditions within the British Isles though his formal construction and expressive mark-making seems to be unique. In addition, the human figure will always be one of the central narrative elements of his work even when the subject matter may not explicitly reference it.
CV - WORK HISTORY
2023 - February 2024. Artist and Tutor
2023 – February 2024. Artist/Tutor
02/02/2024 Selected as an Academician of SWAc (the South West Academy of Fine & Applied Arts).
Selected for SWAc Open exhibition 2023 – Kennaway House.
Selected for Society of Graphic and Fine Art 103rd Open exhibition – Mall Gallery March 2024
Selected for Solo Exhibition at Birdwood Gallery in Totnes 2024 (date to be confirmed)
2011 – 2023 professional Artist/Tutor. Oils, Acrylic, Watercolour, Copperplate etching, Aluminium Etching, Photopolymer etching, Monoprint. Tutor at the Salcombe Art Club & Dartmouth Art Society in Acrylic Painting/Photopolymer
Etching/Gold Leaf. Demonstration Paintings in Acrylic. Committee Member SAC. Chair SAC 2022-23. Many Private Commissions.
2001 – 2011 Creative Director at ‘Workstation Ltd’ Commercial Interior designer & Graphic Designer/Film.
Skills/Tools: Full range of the Adobe Creative Package: Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premier, Aftereffects. Plus, 3dStudio and AutoCAD. Writing and Supervising Web Design.
1981 – 2000 Commercial Interior Design
ACADEMIC BACKGROUND
BA Hons – (First Class) in Architecture (fulltime). Kingston University
Following this, in March, Steve was delighted to be awarded the prestigious 'Best in Colour Award' by the 'Society of Graphic Fine Arts' and the Royal Drawing School for one of his paintings in their 103rd Open Exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London.
In the last decade Steve has intensified his exploration and practice of painting in oils, acrylics, and watercolour. These mediums bring to the surface Steve’s principal strength, his draughtsmanship and his unique and varied mark making.
Currently established as a professional artist and tutor, Steve’s practice also embraces print-making techniques of copper and aluminium etching, contemporary polymer gravure etching, dynamic monotype printing and Gold Leaf/ gilding works.
In his exploration of various ‘ancient’ printing and gilding traditions, he has ensured that he works predominantly within contemporary ‘non-toxic’ processes.
Working from his studios in the beautiful Devon coastal town of Salcombe, Steve is surrounded by a constant source of inspiration and many of his maritime scenes are drawn directly from his experience and knowledge of this uniquely beautiful place. However, inspiration is more often drawn directly from the rawness, fluidity, and evanescence of the changing coastal environment.
In terms of ‘style’, though his work is often seen as eclectic, Steve’s practice is clearly drawn from various schools of art centering on the art traditions within the British Isles though his formal construction and expressive mark-making seems to be unique. In addition, the human figure will always be one of the central narrative elements of his work even when the subject matter may not explicitly reference it.
CV - WORK HISTORY
2023 - February 2024. Artist and Tutor
2023 – February 2024. Artist/Tutor
02/02/2024 Selected as an Academician of SWAc (the South West Academy of Fine & Applied Arts).
Selected for SWAc Open exhibition 2023 – Kennaway House.
Selected for Society of Graphic and Fine Art 103rd Open exhibition – Mall Gallery March 2024
Selected for Solo Exhibition at Birdwood Gallery in Totnes 2024 (date to be confirmed)
2011 – 2023 professional Artist/Tutor. Oils, Acrylic, Watercolour, Copperplate etching, Aluminium Etching, Photopolymer etching, Monoprint. Tutor at the Salcombe Art Club & Dartmouth Art Society in Acrylic Painting/Photopolymer
Etching/Gold Leaf. Demonstration Paintings in Acrylic. Committee Member SAC. Chair SAC 2022-23. Many Private Commissions.
2001 – 2011 Creative Director at ‘Workstation Ltd’ Commercial Interior designer & Graphic Designer/Film.
Skills/Tools: Full range of the Adobe Creative Package: Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premier, Aftereffects. Plus, 3dStudio and AutoCAD. Writing and Supervising Web Design.
1981 – 2000 Commercial Interior Design
ACADEMIC BACKGROUND
BA Hons – (First Class) in Architecture (fulltime). Kingston University