Kim VanDerHoek

Kim is a contemporary fine artist who creates current, vibrant paintings in oil both in her Southern California and en plein air. A multi-award winning artist, she recently received Best of Show in the BoldBrush competition, twice won Best Oil in the Plein Air Salon competition and won the Western Art & Architecture Award at the Haggin Museum American Women Artists 2018 National Exhibition. Her work has been featured in these national magazines: American Art Collector, Fine Art Connoisseur, Southwest Art, American Artist and PleinAir Magazine. Her artwork is part of both corporate and many private collections.
After graduating in 1993 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in illustration from the California College of the Arts in Oakland, California, Kim worked as a graphic designer for 11 years. She left the design field to pursue a career as a full-time painter. She learned to paint by painting en plein air. Kim feels that through plein air painting she has gained a better understanding of the effects of light and atmosphere. She aims to translate those effects into her studio paintings.
Kim says, “It is my hope that when you view my painting from across the room, the large shapes make a strong visual statement that allow you to easily see what the subject is, then, upon closer inspection, you find yourself lost in the paint texture. I am always striving to elevate the scene I am painting in order to show the viewer the every-day beauty surrounding us. In each painting I aim to accurately represent the subject while allowing the paint to have an equal voice and a strong presence.”
Kim is a juried artist member of the Oil Painters of America (OPA), the American Impressionist Society (AIS), a member with distinction of the American Women Artists (AWA) and a juried Artist member of the California Art Club (CAC).

Click here to read our interview with Kim!