Kirk McBride


				"Everything has a moment when light and shadow create something breathtaking to view." Kirk McBride is constantly looking for those moments to inspire his oil paintings. He travels often and paints a variety of subjects from seascapes to mountains, from city scenes to landscapes, from foreign cafes to interiors of his own home and studio. The light and shadow relationship being the unifying theme that runs throughout his work. Winning "Best in Show" at the first local art show he entered encouraged Kirk to make painting a lifelong pursuit. He's been at it for over 30 years now, first part-time in watercolors, and since the late '90's, full-time in oils. He has been influenced by a number of painters from the past, including Edward Hopper, Edgar Paine, and the Russian Impressionists of the early 20th Century. Kirk graduated from the University of Maryland in 1974 and has studied with nationally recognized painter, and fellow surf industry veteran, Ken Auster. Travels to Italy, Mexico, the Caribbean, Maine, Colorado and California provide a variety of images for Kirk's paintings. Kirk often paints "plein air" (outdoors) and uses those small plein air paintings, along with sketches and snapshots as studies for his larger studio pieces. He has been elected an "Artist" member of the Mid Atlantic Plein Air Painters Association. Kirk has been juried into a number of plein air painting competitions and exhibitions where he has won awards. His home and studio are on Maryland's Eastern Shore.