Ken Tighe

"Salt Springs"  oil on panel  38" x 48"  2009

"Salt Springs #3"  oil on panel  16" x 16"  2010

"Broadmoor Sluice"  oil on panel  16" x 16"  2010

Clay Room Nocturne"  48" x 48"  1989

"Spectre of my Childhood Buick"  oil on panel  20" x 24"  1999

Ken Tighe is an artist who lives, paints and teaches in Massachusetts. He cites his former instructor George Nick as his most significant influence in the realist tradition, but he has clearly long since established his own visual sensibilities. His most recent work has been a stunning series of studies depicting rock formations in water. With little or no reference to the surrounding scenery it would be easy for these images to dissolve into abstraction. And in the rich heart of their detail that is where his work lives and breathes. And yet the whole is instantly recognizable for what it is. This is realism after all. If all he had ever painted were these rockscapes I'd recommend his work, but over the course of his long career he has hardly been content to settle for one particular type of imagery. On his website (kentighe.virb.com) you'll find landscapes, cityscapes, figure studies, portraits, flowers, interiors, various vehicles and even sculpture. There's loads to look at and some wonderful detail shots of certain pieces. And if you'd like to learn more about the artist there's a lengthy interview at paintingperceptions.com.