Dee Kirkham
Fine Art in Oils

Raised in New Mexico, Dee Kirkham got her first training in art from her father, an artist, musician and published lyricist. As she grew up, Peter Hurd, Henriette Wyeth and Michael Wyeth became her inspiration. Dee did not seriously start her art career until her late 20's when she began seriously developing her art career.

After painting in the studio for over 20 years, Dee decided to expand her horizons, literally, into plein air painting. She initially began her discovery of plein air painting under John Cosby, a renowned plein air painter and founder of the Laguna Beach Plein Air Paintout.

Dee Kirkham has traveled extensively to add to her repetoire of plein air paintings. Her collectors have been excited to view and obtain her series of paintings from Tahiti, Germany, and Tuscany, Italy.

Dee strives to capture "God's greatest creation" in her paintings so her collectors can enjoy the scenes in their homes every day that she enjoys painting. Many of her paintings include the California coast, desert, mountains as well as unusual scenes of fond memories. In addition to her plein air paintings, Dee has captured quite an audience for her still life.

As an accomplished artist, Dee has participated in numerous juried art shows over her 25 plus years of painting in Newport Beach and all over Orange County, California. She was also privileged to be one of the first artists to be selected to participate in the Calico Ghost Town annual National Western Art show held annually.

Since 1975, Dee has juried in numerous art shows in California, Oregon, New Mexico, attended numerous workshops with a variety of artists, including John Cosby, John Budicin, George Strickland, Junn Roca, Jacquelin Kamin and Kevin MacPherson. She also taught painting for many years and conducted workshops in techniques of painting. Dee has also studied under the tutelage of Sherrie McGraw and David Leffel in her still lifes, which have been juried into many prestigous exhibits all over the country.

For more information on current exhibits, please contact Dee Kirkham.