Maritime artist Scott O. Kennedy has been hailed
as the “Mariner’s Artist” due to his precise execution of modern and classic sailing vessels. He credits his
eye for detail to his love of sailing, a lifelong affair that began with he was growing up in and around the waters of Newport
Beach, California.
His life as an artist emerged there, also. He
began painting at age 13 and gained a solid reputation throughout California with his art through the dedicated management and
sales representation of his mother, Dorothy Kennedy. Famed naval artist Arthur Beaumont encouraged his talent and unique style,
and by 16 years of age, his work was selected to be presented to then California Governor Ronald Reagan.
Kennedy further enhanced his artistic skill by attending the renowned art school Bellas Artes de Mexico
in San Miguel de Allende before traveling to Denmark in search of a traditional wooden boat to restore.
He and his wife Karen lived aboard their wooden Danish kutter Svanen for 10 years, pursuing his work in
pen and ink in Denmark, Holland and Germany. Together, they learned how to rebuild this local Danish all wooden workboat
with the kind helping hands and knowledge of local craftsmen. This was indeed a valuable learning experience for both
of them. During this period, cities and towns lauded him for his renderings of the waterways and architecture of northern
Europe, and commissioned him to do collections of drawings depicting their heritage and unique environs.
Returning to the U.S., Kennedy chronicled three America’s Cup races on location in San Diego and
Western Australia. He has also been the official artist of the
Newport to Ensenada Yacht Race, the largest international yacht race, for 15 years.
Selected commissions include: a waterfront mural for the City of Newport, Oregon; Sir Michael Faye,
New Zealand Syndicate; America’s Cup; Sail America; Herreshoff Marine Museum, Rhode Island; Port Townsend Wooden Boat
Festival; Sail Magazine and the Avalon Tuna Club on Catalina Island, U.S.A.
Scott's
painting “The Columbia and Ingomar” is
featured in the 2004 publication “Bound
for Blue Water” compiled by J.
Russell Jinishian. This is a
top-notch hard bound coffee table book premiering the world's finest
marine artists. Scott's
oil painting HMS Rose, which was purchased this past summer, can
be seen on J. Russell Jinishian's website. Prints of
Scott's “The
Columbia and Ingomar”
watercolor, painted for Halsey Herrshoff, are offered for sale by
Mystic Seaport in Connecticut.
The book “Gallery of Marine Artists”,
compiled by Jerry McClish, features the Scott Kennedy oil painting "Pilot off Point Loma”.
J. Russell Jinishian declares "Nobody can
quite sit down the way Scott Kennedy does with a simple pen and piece of paper and make sense out of all he's looking at in
such a beautiful and elegant way."
Kennedy now lives and paints south of Ensenada, on
the coast of Baja California, Mexico. He also maintains a studio on the Rhine Channel in Newport Beach. He can be reached by
calling 949-293-0279 or by email.
A new Collection of work done in Mexico is now being
put on this website. Look for more and more paintings to be posted in the immediate future.
