Artist Follows Long Road
May 4th, 2015 - Thornhill, ON
Rachel Levy Sarfin
Toronto
Correspondent
When Ken Kirsch was in
Grade 1, his teacher asked the students to draw the street where they lived. Kirsch drew the picture as though he were standing at the end of the street. At the far end of the picture the houses looked smaller and the road narrowed into a distant point.
“My teacher freaked out,” he
recounted. She held it up for the whole class to see and explained that Kirsch had drawn a perspective painting, something most 6 year olds can’t do.
Over the years, Kirsch continued to be interested in art.
By Grade 6, he was responsible for the backdrops in school plays. After high school (and a brief stint in the insurance industry), he enrolled in Seneca
College’s graphic design program.
As a student at Seneca,
Kirsch gained an appreciation
for painting, although he set it
aside to pursue a career in advertising.
The Toronto native
had a successful career in the field, establishing Pinpoint
Studios with a fellow Seneca
alumna. Pinpoint Studios was acquired by a larger firm in
1990, and heart issues made
Kirsch reconsider being part of the fast-paced, stressful advertising field. In 1992, he went back into the insurance business, in which he currently works. The career switch also gave Kirsch the opportunity to explore the passion he felt for painting.
The artist focuses on two
subjects: landscapes and
scenes of historic Toronto.
Kirsch’s landscapes are inspired
by his love of the outdoors,
something his late father Moishe instilled within
him. He also attended B’nai
Brith Northland camp for a
number of years, where he fell in love with canoeing.
“I love animals,” he added.
Kirsch enjoys bird watching as well.
His scenes of historic
Toronto were inspired by
Kirsch’s experience in advertising.
In 1980, Gray Coach
Lines hired him. The company gave Kirsch access to its advertising archives, which included many black and white pictures of Toronto in days gone by.
“It was fascinating to me,” he
remarked. Kirsch began going to the library to look at books that described the city’s past, and he also became acquainted with journalist and Toronto historian Mike Filey.
Filey has provided him with
the valuable details that bring
Kirsch’s scenes of old Toronto to life.
“I want to show what it
would look like to open the
door and see Yonge Street in
1910,” he said.
Kirsch’s talent has attracted a
great deal of attention. Since
taking up painting full time,
his work has been featured in
40 shows, and he’s well represented at art galleries across the GTA. You can also find his art at galleries in Gravenhurst and Port Carling.
Between Oct. 24 and 26, five
of Kirsch’s paintings were featured at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in
Kleinburg during its autumn
art sale. It was a prestigious
event in the Canadian art community: the gallery only selects 50 artists from across the country to display their works at the sale.
To view and purchase more
of Kirsch’s work, visit
kenkirsch.com.