Kent Sento
Biography
Born 1957, in New York, of Turkish and German descent, we moved to England when I was six.
In 1969 my father unwittingly took me to the Thruxton F2 race, Jochen Rindt became an instant idol. I was hooked and devoured Motoring News thereafter. I drew a lot of cars instead of doing school work. This obsession with cars made school work seem very boring. and then my heroes started dying and I became increasingly withdrawn. no body around me shared my loss.
We went to a lot of museums,{In the hope that something might get my mind off racing cars}. I would be done and they were still in the first room. I was too young to appreciate most of it. No engine no thrill. And then at 16 life changed when I went to a surrealist art show. Dali, Ernst, Oelze, Miro, and so many more. Wow, Surrealist art certainly got me to stop walking and start looking. And then I came to a complete stop, in front of a Tanguy. That was it, being an artist took on a whole new meaning. I wanted to paint abstract landscapes in a similar fashion to Yves Tanguy, I followed his system , the line is my own.
When I left school I became a salesman and forgot all about making art, I turned to tennis to overcome my stress, I slept better with sore feet. Until I met an angel on the court. She sat me down and asked a few tough questions... "Forget sales and trying to get rich fast. Move to the countryside, teach tennis and maybe you will get your mind back to paint again". I heeded her words, left London and never went back. Now I get to go outdoors and make children laugh, they get to keep a more beautiful forehand and I'm a happy painter.
Tanguy was my inspiration, today it's the excitement of a new face or expression appearing, it is only when I slow down enough that they want to come out of the ether, the less overt and more ambiguous the better. Many people will not see the face in the first place, but that's ok. It's just a hobby. The oil paintings are a slow process, requiring many layers, By being self taught, although technically I probably suffer, it allows me to go my own way and hopefully somewhere no one has been before.
I must thank; my mother and father for supporting my artistic quest,
My aunt Ferda for her extreme enthusiasm.
My wife Ali, my greatest encourager and most welcome critic.
Dieter Kunzemann the master potter who took me in, gave me clay and the conviction that being an artist was a worthy pursuit.
Paul Carr my karting sensei, Who in exchange for letting me sweep his floor gave me a quick go kart and finally somewhere I was hungry to learn.
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