Every artist needs an online space that truly represents them. A place where their work can be seen, but also a place for the artist to engage collectors and art lovers in a more personal intimate way than social media. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of building that space for several fantastic artists. One of my favorite collaborations has been with Ken Thrift, an abstract painter, actor, and musician who fronted the 1990s rock band Inner Sanctum.
It began with a website for Ken’s painting career. I designed a clean, focused site to feature and sell his original paintings and prints. We created a strategy that included socail media to announce the site and Ken’s new online presence that targeted his potential collectors. Soon after launch, that site caught the attention of The Art of Watercolor, an international art journal. They reached out to Ken through the site, and what followed was something every artist dreams of: a cover feature. Actually, Ken has now been featured twice in the publication, a nod to the quality of his abstract work and the simple truth that when you put art into the world with intention, it finds its audience.
Ken’s paintings, works like Symptoms of a Simple Life, Serrano, and Stranger Than Paradise, are available as prints online, with originals available by request. His artistic philosophy is rooted in personal discovery: “Growing up, I had a lot of negative emotions and was looking for a way to express them before I exploded. Then I discovered painting. Bright colors made me feel alive, positive, and connected to something. It started healing me and gave me a way to communicate, which is why I’m sharing my art with you today.”
But Ken’s creative life doesn’t stop at the canvas. He’s also the vocalist for Inner Sanctum, a band with a devoted following since the 1990s. The group gained a huge following when the band became a finalist in a national iHeart Radio contest. They know what it means to connect with listeners across decades. Ken was eager to remaster their first album for its 30th anniversary with technology that was unavailable at the time. He really wanted to give the fans the highest quality version of that first album.
So I built another site. The Inner Sanctum site is a home for the band’s past, present, and future. Visitors can instantly download the remastered 30th anniversary edition of The Changeling, shop for merch (T-shirts and stickers—do you still have your original? The band wants to see it on Facebook), and explore a gallery packed with images, interviews, and long-lost artifacts from the band’s 30-year history. There’s an interview with Ken about the work that went into remastering The Changeling, and a promise of what’s next: a meticulously prepared 30th anniversary remaster of their second album, Geisha Made, complete with expanded artwork and new archival material.
Ken Thrift’s art crosses many media, allowing him the freedom to explore and connect with people through painting, music, and performance. As a painter, his abstract watercolor works have been internationally featured. As a musician, he helped create the 90s midwest alt rock sound as frontman of Muzzy Luctin, where his watercolors often appeared as album art. As an actor, he has appeared in the thriller The Pining with Tom Sizemore, Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why, and HBO’s Ballers, among many other films and television shows.
Today, Ken teaches private groups to explore art-making, sharing his positivity-focused palette as a tool to connect, grow, and heal. He has also shared his painting process in multiple step-by-step articles and guides with The Art of Watercolour Magazine. Original works are available through private sale, and he welcomes inquiries about purchases, private groups, and all other requests.