Ken Orton's childhood was spent drawing the urban, industrial surroundings of Birmingham, England. At Manchester Colleges of Art he studied Art Education, and after six years teaching in England, he accepted an offer of Head of the Arts Program at the Joan Miro Centro de Arte of the Baleares International School in Mallorca, Spain.

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"I use my own carefully composed photographs as a reference and each piece has a precisely painted, clear point of focus. I do not consider myself a photo-realist. I am equally interested in the intentionally blurred fields of color in my compositions."- Ken Orton 

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He has traveled the world with his artwork, sold hundreds of paintings and had one man shows in Spain, France, England and the USA. He has won numerous Best of Show awards--most prominently New York's Washington Square Painting Prize and has had his work published on two continents.  The artist splits his time between the Catskill Mountains of New York and his winter home in Florida where he is happy being able to devote all his energies to painting.