Quotes from Collectors

I'm in love with the wandering misty stream that I purchased. I'm there with it, and what's more I want to follow it. Some famous poet, maybe Thoreau, said that the greatest moral indicator is the ability to perceive beauty. Your painting reminds me of that ideal that I want to hold as truth. If we really held the beauty of life as a moral imperative we would live much more tenderly. Alicia Leinberger

We both love your work and hope that this is just a first purchase of it for us. I can't explain it but when I look at this painting I get a "happy heart". The light in it is wonderful and the mood is just right. It was the perfect painting for us and our home. Thank you....
Karen & Joe

Ken I'm actually speechless, which you know doesn't happen often.
It's beautiful. Thank you. I'm delighted. You have captured magic Ken.
To me magic is that beautiful woman's years of living portrayed on her face,
her body language is peaceful but definitely says she's worked hard...
Then her complacent peaceful at ease energy is what I strive for... Lovely!
I can't thank you enough. KC

Ken,
Just spent an hour viewing your entire website, and wanted to tell you how
much I enjoyed it. Your work is wonderful, effortless and full of the
light and essence of the place at the time you painted it. You make
my soul sing when I see your work. Thank You for sharing your talent!
Betty DiBartolomeo

I love your work!! Ted loves it!!! Nothing more to say. Oh, congratulations too.
Ted and Dorothy

A simple WOW! Your work is maturing and taking new directions and I am a number one fan.
Do I remember something about "Keep it Simple, keep it simple, keep it simple"? I am so excited about your work .
With great respect,
Dorothy Schildknecht       

I am very impressed with your work from the Easton Paint Out. What you accomplished there truly exemplifies what I believe Painting is all about. Your use of composition is excellent and your handling of the paint is superb. Keep up the good work!
Ted Smuskiewicz Instructor - American Academy of Art, Chicago

I have been trying to figure out how to describe your plein air works. To me they have a quality of subdued-immediacy which is a little contradictory, but it keeps the viewer really coming back. I know you have more awards coming. - Harry Neely

I can't tell you how many times I have stood in the living room at night and progressively dimmed the lights on the China boats. It looks like an actual sunset. The painted water reacts exactly like real water. You expect to hear the ripples hitting against the dock. How is that possible? How did you do that? It's genius I tell you! - Mark Halter

Ken De Waard is the painter of parsimony and mastery of vision. He says what he wants quickly and effectively with half the fuss many others apply. He is a plein air master in his simplicity of approach , mood and painterly magnificence. - Jose De Juan

This poem below was written by a gentleman that hosted myself and Robert Simone another artist after our stay in Jupiter FL. Thank you Wally, very cool!

Plein Air Affair

He stands before his easel where the linen board is fixed.
Upon his palette, brilliant colors waiting to be mixed.
A metal pot of turpenoid is dangling from a hook,
And a roll of paper towels is clutched within his elbow’s crook.
His paint brush fidgets anxiously and twitches in his hand
To the beat heard through his earbuds by some island reggae band.
The sun breaks the horizon and illuminates his world,
With stripes of light and shadow like Old Glory’s been unfurled.
His brush darts to his oils like a heron spearing fish,
Then he waives it in a circle with a jaunty kind of swish.
He first begins the outline of the scene he will portray,
As he stands there sweating bullets the remainder of the day.
While he lays out his darkest darks and then his lightest lights,
The mosquito horde descends and starts inflicting itchy bites.
So he fires up his Thermacell and slathers on some Deet,
Which he applies with gusto from his forehead to his feet.
He continues underpainting using energetic strokes
And is unaware he has attracted quite a crowd of folks,
Until they start in asking him a multitude of questions,
Critique his work, and offer him their uninformed suggestions.
He then applies the shapes and values of his composition;
The temperature of colors, adding depth to his rendition;
The illusion of perspective and of forms in third dimension,
Prompting his decisions and demanding his attention.
The sun beats down high overhead. He dons a broad brimmed hat
And adjusts his small umbrella but he never paused or sat.
He continues pushing paint around, a vast array of hues:
The cadmiums and pthalos, the yellows, reds, and blues.
Then finally, he finishes and thinks he got it right,
Portraying shapes and surfaces affected by the light.

The gallery is crowded as he peers across the hall
And spies his painting hanging in the light upon the wall.
Behold! Upon the label is a bright red dot applied.
He has sold it. Someone loves it. And his heart swells up with
pride.

Wally McCall
Jupiter, FL.