Kenneth Austin Licht was born in Englewood, N.J. on December 24th, 1923. The son of Lawrence and Ethel Licht.
Stricken with Asthma, Kenn was house bound as a child. With time on his hands and only a radio to listen to, Kenn began as his sister Jeane would say, to draw and doodle. Little did the world know at the time, that this Yankee Doodler was a dandy.
Kenn in high school was already a great cartoonist. In his senior year he illustrated Dwight Morrow High School's 1943 Senior yearbook with his alter ego cartoon character, Austin Z. Zoot. Austin can be seen throughout the yearbook clowning around on most of the pages. Good old charismatic carefree Austin Z. Zoot. Austin at the end of the school year also graduates with his other class members.
Kenn entering an art contest in his senior year in high school won an unsolicited full scholarship to Temple University. His cartoons were noticed by the dean of the fine arts school. The fine arts school was called Tyler School of Fine and Applied Arts. Kenn received his BFA at Tyler in Philadelphia.
Receiving his Masters in Education. Kenn became a school teacher in Tucson, Arizona. He taught 5th and 6th grade along with special ed. It is in these year that Kenn developed a love for the southwest. This love is still strong today and is reflective in his southwestern paintings.
Moving back east. Kenn used his art talent by doing architectural illustrations. At first he worked for firms in New York City and then started his own firm in the New Jersey metro area. He was the top renderer in the area and did over 3000 renderings including many famous buildings. Several of his illustrations have been published in newspapers and books.
Kenn is a multi talented artist . He can do Oils ,Tempera, Pastels, Acrylic, Casein, Alkyd, Collage, Box Construction, Computer Assisted Abstracts, Ink, Pencil Sketches and Watercolor. His most recent art show was at West Point, N.Y. at Eisenhower Hall. He has won many art shows, too many to mention. Kenn now lives in northern New Jersey.