Aiden Kringen grew up immersed in art and from that early age, he developed a deep-seated passion for it. He knew in high school what his career path would be and pushed himself to take any medium or genre he explored as far as he could.
Today, Aiden paints the figure using oil on canvas, capturing what he believes makes his pieces deeply intimate –– the figure staring at the viewer.
Aiden shares how his art has evolved from classical to street art to portraits and figures, and how he has pushed his work to forge his own way.
What was your first introduction to art?
My first introduction was to artwork that my mom showed me as I was growing up. And I was exposed to a lot of famous artists and books lying around the house from a very young age. I would draw in sketchbooks as much as possible. That was always my thing –– what I loved to do. After high school, I decided that I wanted to pursue it full-time and give it my best shot, even though most people thought that it was kind of crazy. It took off from there when I started doing my own shows and really pursuing and pushing that type of way of showing artwork.
How has your art evolved over the years?
I started very rough and kind of wild in the beginning. I grew up on a lot of classical artwork, but then moved into street art as I was in high school and exposed to those things as well. And then I started to come back and refine it more and try to find my own style and my own way of pushing portraits and figures.
What inspires your work?
There’s so much in an expression and in a face, and I love trying to capture that essence of a person. A lot of my portraits feel intimate because the figure is staring at the viewer, but that’s where all the magic is to me. I really want to push that as far as I can to have the viewer connect with that portrait and the figure as much as possible.
What was the most memorable moment in your career?
Most memorable moment was definitely the first large sale that I had in a gallery. It was during one of the first shows I was involved with and selling a portrait that was done in the style that I had wanted to do, and that I had worked towards completing in that way. It just meant so much for my family and I. It was definitely an amazing feeling to be showing at that level among other artists that I respected and to be able to have that happen was really incredible.
How would you describe the Celebration of Fine Art?
It’s definitely different in the way that everybody here is incredibly supportive and really kind. Every artist has a really amazing story as far as where they came through and what happened in their careers. I love being around that kind of energy. There’s a lot of artists here that have supported families with their careers and have pushed their medium as much as they can throughout their time. And it feels like a giant family for sure. Everybody welcomes you in as if you’re a part of the family. So, it’s really special in that way.