Ken J. Messer (1931–2018) was a British watercolour painter and draughtsman. Ken Messer was born in Newport, South Wales, and was educated at the

City of Oxford High School for Boys The City of Oxford High School for Boys (a.k.a. Oxford High School for Boys and City of Oxford School) was founded in 1881 by Thomas Hill Green to provide Oxford boys with an education which would enable them to prepare for University. History ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, where he spent much of his time during his life. After school, Messer worked in

accountancy Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "langua ...

for six years in Oxford. He then joined

British Overseas Airways Corporation British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the pass ...

(BOAC) as a steward, flying internationally. Injury due to a car accident during the 1960s meant that he joined the design department of

Pergamon Press Pergamon Press was an Oxford-based publishing house, founded by Paul Rosbaud and Robert Maxwell, that published scientific and medical books and journals. Originally called Butterworth-Springer, it is now an imprint of Elsevier. History The ...

in Oxford at the age of 33. Six years later, he was appointed to the position of studio manager, in charge of

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

and

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design' ...

. In 1974, Messer left Pergamon Press to become a freelance graphic designer. He started painting more

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

s, becoming a fulltime artist. During the 1980s, his

ink Ink is a gel, sol, or solution that contains at least one colorant, such as a dye or pigment, and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing or writing with a pen, brush, reed pen, or quill. Thicker ...

drawings were regularly published in the ''

Oxford Times Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

''. He has sometimes been called "The Oxford Artist" because of his large number of artworks depicting the city of Oxford. Prints of Messer's artworks have been published by the Burford Gallery, Kingfisher Prints, Rosenstiels, and Templecrest Art. His work has been shown at Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours annual exhibitions, held at the

Mall Galleries Mall commonly refers to a: * Shopping mall * Strip mall * Pedestrian street * Esplanade Mall or MALL may also refer to: Places Shopping complexes * The Mall (Sofia) (Tsarigradsko Mall), Sofia, Bulgaria * The Mall, Patna, Patna, Bihar, India * ...

, the base of the

Federation of British Artists The Federation of British Artists (FBA) consists of nine art societies, and is based at Mall Galleries in London where the societies' Annual Exhibitions are held. The societies represent living artists working in the United Kingdom who create co ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Messer won prizes at three consecutive biennial international Saunders ''Artist in Watercolour'' competitions and in '' The Artist'' magazine watercolour competition. His paintings have been sold at auctions, including at Christie's,

South Kensington South Kensington, nicknamed Little Paris, is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with ...

, in London. Ken Messer was married to Dilys Lloyd. They lived in

Richmond upon Thames The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in southwest London forms part of Outer London and is the only London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas amalgamated under the London ...

, southwest London, and then the town of Abingdon on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

, south of Oxford. They had two sons and one daughter together.

References

External links

Ken Messer website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Messer, Ken 1931 births 2018 deaths People from Newport, Wales People educated at the City of Oxford High School for Boys 20th-century British painters 21st-century British painters 20th-century British male artists 21st-century male artists Artists from Oxfordshire British draughtsmen English graphic designers English male painters English landscape painters English watercolourists