Ken Dewar

hile growing up on various military bases around Canada and Europe, Ken developed a marvelous eye for detail. Quiet by nature, Ken has devoted much of his time to the development of a unique art style that clearly sets him apart from most of the players in the art game.

By day (during the school year), Mr. Dewar is an instructor at the Alberta College of Art, unquestionably one of the most prestigious art schools in North America. Nocturnal by nature, most of his evenings are spent in the cool and quiet hours with a brush in hand transferring image and thought to canvas.

Considered one of Canada's premiere artists, showing his work in galleries such as Artists of the World Gallery, Ken has developed a wonderful series of Victorian fantasy pieces. Each piece is supported by his unique style of poetry.

Working with Jim Fisher of Fish Creek Military Prints, Ken Dewar has done a number of limited edition pieces celebrating Canada's rich military history and commemorating recent operations in the former Yugoslavia and Afghanistan.

Aces & 8's is a collaborative effort, bringing together the talents of Ken the artist, Publisher Jim Fisher and Rod McLeod responsible for marketing. Seeing a clear need for a work of art that would commemorate the most famous poker game of all time, Ken put brush to canvas and devoted hundreds of hours to create the image.

Spiritual by nature, there are several icons, symbols and nuances contained in the painting that spell impending doom. Aside from the subtle movement seen in Jack McCall's revolver, the snuffed lantern above Hickok's head and the man standing in the doorway indicate harbingers of death.

Ken has a penchant for doing things in threes. Aces & 8's is the first of a series of three pieces depicting life in Deadwood and the wilder side of life in a Western town. Currently on the drawingboard is a piece he calls Double Diamonds featuring two young ladies, soiled doves, very much a part of the fabric of 1870's Deadwood. The third in the series is another common phenom of the era, a gunfight entitled Luck of the Draw.

Given the resurgent interest in the game of Poker, all three paintings are intended to, and are perfectly suited, to adorn the walls of poker rooms and casinos throughout the world.