Better known as just Kenny, he took a dare from a friend several years ago that he could produce better artwork drunk than what was seen at a local gallery. The rest, as they say, is history.

 

Kenny paints glass stemware, vases, and serving platters with vivid, eclectic patterns. Inspired by simple things like wallpaper, couch pillows, or sweaters worn by one of television’s favorite dads, “Drunkkenart” is a colorful departure from routine table decorations.

 

“A group of friends and I were out watching the stars, sharing some wine and a couple of us at the same time called it drunken art,” he said. “As I was under the influence when it started, I quickly added that it should be ‘DrunkKENart’ since I was drunk, and I’m Ken, and it’s art.”

 

That was March 2000. That same evening, Kenny and a friend were walking through the former Collaborations Art Gallery when he spotted some hand painted wine glasses.

 

“I said ‘Heck, I could get drunk and do better than that,’ and my friend said ‘I dare you,’” Kenny remembers. “We left there, went to a craft store in Seaside, and bought paints and brushes.”

 

That evening Kenny bought a dozen glasses, another bottle of wine and art supplies. He took those first works of art back to the Gallery and promptly sold all 12 of them. A few days later he bought some more glasses, sold all of those, and hasn’t looked back.

 

During the intervening seven years, Kenny has sold more than 6,000 pieces in 31 locations throughout the country.

 

In his former life, Kenny was a freelance artist at Collaborations Art Gallery but, as the song says, “they tore down paradise and put up a parking lot.” When the Gallery closed, Kenny joined the ranks of the white collar, working class and is currently a tech analyst for a Fortune 500 company. “From freelance artist to desk jockey, frightening I know,” Kenny laments.

 

Kenny will be the first to tell anyone that he is not an artist. His business card reads, “I’m not an artist, I’m just a drunk who likes to paint.”

 

“I have no idea what I’m doing, or anything about paint,” he said. “Originally I got drunk and just started slapping paint on the wine glass with a sponge. Now, I usually paint in the morning before work (sober), use a brush, and actually have been getting a little more artistic lately. Very little.”

 

A starry night and a little libation may have been Kenny’s first muse, but today he finds inspiration in an offbeat array of people, places and things.

 

“My eyes wander constantly for patterns in wallpaper, fabrics, nature – nothing is safe,” he said. “I combine or break down ideas, switch them around, make them my own. Most is simply stripes and spots and splotches.”

 

One series of vases, and stemware color pattern, is based on the colorful sweaters worn by Bill Cosby’s character Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable. Another vase design – a fanciful kaleidoscope of rich reds, blues, oranges and yellows – is named in honor of Kenny’s mother, Geraldine.

 

His laid back approach to his craft gives Kenny an ease that many other artists – perfectionists – don’t have. Where other artists would abandon a piece if they felt it was flawed, Kenny embraces these imperfections.

 

“There are no mistakes, just creative detours,” he said. “And, discounts. Nothing has ever been pitched. I’ve had a few pieces ‘burn’ in the oven, turning the paint a little dark. I refer to it as ‘antiquing.’”

 

While he doesn’t do custom orders, Kenny does know his audience well and works to give them what they want.

 

“South Walton buys martini and wine glasses, vases and serving platters,” he said. “Panama City buys shot glasses, ashtrays and beer mugs. I’m not making a statement. I just know my market.”

 

The price range for Kenny’s glassware is “anywhere from a few bucks for shot glasses, up to $300 for a serving platter.”

 

His future plans include branching out into canvas, fabric and other home accessories.