Keith Sorenson

The trajectory of my life has brought me to this, being an artist in my “Golden Years”.

After attending architectural school at University of Utah, I found myself in the US Navy, with deployments to Cuba and Antarctica. I have spent time at McMurdo Station and the South Pole, exploring the harsh but extremely interesting environments.  After the Navy I went back to grad school for a while.  I then opened an architectural firm and practiced architecture for almost thirty years, designing projects (mostly schools) throughout the western United States. I have always traveled, before and after retirement. I loved seeing new places including backpacking and wilderness trips to Northern Canada and Arctic Ocean.

Although I’ve always painted, there really wasn’t time to focus on it until I retired in 2002. I am largely self-taught, with help from my friends. I started painting watercolors on a rafting trip on the Colorado River in the late 90’s, but in more recent years I have moved toward painting in oils. Once I focused on oils, I haven’t looked back. My painting has evolved, but always around landscapes.  I’ve loved trying new mediums and styles.  I’ve been influenced by people I’ve been fortunate enough to paint with, including Dedy Ward and Clayton James. The Canadian Group of Seven and Gordon Smith also have influenced me. I’ve tried to expose myself to different artists and styles wherever I could.  My current work is inspired by bellwether systems, which indicate changes to the environment with loss and change, such as wetlands, coral reefs, and grasslands.  I find painting outdoors to be meditative, focusing on the beauty of nature and the present.

I’ve been lucky and found a supportive arts community and have shown my work at many galleries and venues in the Pacific Northwest and beyond, and placed paintings with many individuals and institutions along the way.

Keith resides in Anacortes, Washington