About Kenneth:  Kenneth Cotlar, originally from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, earned a BFA from Penn State University in 1969. He worked as a graphic design artist in Philadelphia for several years before moving to Cambria County to partner with his wife in business. He freelanced graphic design projects for various regional businesses as well as visual merchandising and advertising art. For three decades he painted sporadically, selling his works selectively. Retiring from business in early 2001, he returned to full time painting after graduate work at Indiana University of PA. His award winning paintings have been exhibited in numerous juried shows, one man exhibits, art festivals and are held in private collections throughout the United States.

Artist Statement:  My abstract paintings are process driven works created on various surfaces, masonite, plexiglass, aluminum, or heavy raw duck canvas using acrylic, latex and oil paints.

My methodology involves readying myself by means of Transcendental Meditation(relaxing and clearing the mind of preconceived images), and then executing a random mark, stroke, swath or pool of paint, and then each subsequent stroke is suggested from the previous. The concept is to get the painting to paint itself.

The process and the resulting image then, is what the painting is about. I consciously try not to impose myself on the painting, yet become part of the natural random progression of the art. The images are mostly unconscious or intuitive and are intentionally non-representational.

If you are interested in purchasing something from this exhibit, please contact us at 814-443-2433.