Keith Larsen

Art was not my vocation; it was always my avocation. My parents, being products of the Great Depression, did not steer me or support me in making art the center of my working life. It was a hobby to them, a passion to me. I do not want to suggest that my parents did not see the value of the arts. My mother made sure that we went to plays. My parents had classical music in our home. We had reproductions of the art masters and had some pieces of original art. My mother was an avid paint-by-number person. So, I did do what I could with the full support of my wife and children. I was a member of the Utah Watercolor Society. I participated in juried shows and displayed in galleries. As the years went on, however, with school, marriage, family, and work, I set my art aside at times. However, I would have to return to it for meaning, joy, and sanity even if in reduced doses. I like to create. Fortunately, my vocation, designing software for use in patient care, also afforded a creative life. Now, however, my time can more fully be given to art and I feel a need to explore it in the time I have.

I cannot claim to be a self-didactic. I have studied watercolor painting with Ed Maryon and George Dibble. I have studied life drawing with Paul Davis and John Erickson. I am inspired by several artists; Édouard Manet for courage, Joaquín Sorolla for immediacy and light, Edgar Degas for draftsmanship of line and composition, Charles Reid and Winslow Homer for watercolor, Alex Kanevsky for dream states, and Billy Schenck and James C. Christensen for humor. There are so many others and I try to learn from them all.

Utah State Fair 2025 - Honorable Mention
Utah Watercolor Society, Fall 2025 - Honorable mention
Springville April Salon 2026
Utah Watercolor Society, Spring 2026