Ken Stetz, currently residing in Collegeville, PA, was born in NJ and grew up along the New Jersey shore. He has had a life-long interest in art.

After graduating from the Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship and working aboard a US flag container ship, Ken decided to pursue a career in art. He majored in Pictorial Illustration at the Spectrum Institute for the Advertising Arts, graduating in 1981, and studied oil painting in the studio of noted American artist, Frank E. Zuccarelli. Following his time at sea and his formal art education, Ken settled down in the heart of the NJ shore and began his pursuit of a career as an artist.

Working as an independent artist since 1985, Ken’s work included graphic design, packaging design, and creating illustrations for books and magazines, including Highlights for Children. Over the last 15+ years, he has turned his attention to drawing and painting marine subjects. His paintings mostly depict the area from the New Jersey Shore to the southeastern Maryland shore. Occasionally, he creates work from visited places such as the California coast, the Oregon coast and coastal Maine.

Ken is well versed in many mediums but primarily paints in oil on canvas, or watercolor on paper. His watercolor paintings have twice been selected for publication in the international “Best of Watercolor” series, first in “Splash 19”, released in July of 2018, and again in “Splash 25”, released in July of 2024. His oil on canvas paintings “Surf Patrol” and “Surf Rescue” were selected for exhibition in the American Society of Marine Artist’s 18th and 19th National Exhibitions. Ken is a signature member of the ASMA and a contributing member of COGAP (Coast Guard Art Program). In 2024, Ken’s oil on canvas “Absorbing the Roll” received the Coast Guard’s prestigious George Gray Award for outstanding artistic achievement.