Norman Kirk of Santa Paula (born 1924) has had a long and successful career as an artist. As a child in Cleveland, he entertained his schoolmates with drawings of rocket ships. During the depression, supplies and funds for classes were at a premium, so Kirk filled his days at the Cleveland Art Museum (which later helped earn him an apprenticeship there) and attended city art classes. In high school, his art instructor recognized his talent and invited him to join an adult life drawing ... view more »
Norman Kirk of Santa Paula (born 1924) has had a long and successful career as an artist. As a child in Cleveland, he entertained his schoolmates with drawings of rocket ships. During the depression, supplies and funds for classes were at a premium, so Kirk filled his days at the Cleveland Art Museum (which later helped earn him an apprenticeship there) and attended city art classes. In high school, his art instructor recognized his talent and invited him to join an adult life drawing class.
After a brief period in the army during WWII, Kirk moved to Los Angeles and attended Los Angeles Art Center School of Design. He was hired by North American Aviation before he graduated. At that time photographs were not allowed, due to the high security of their military aircraft. So Kirk spent the next 25 years travelling the world, painting airplanes and spacecraft. He also continued his art education at UCLA, Chouinard, DePaul University and Ventura College.
Kirk left North American Aviation in the 1970’s and had a successful freelance career in advertising illustration. In 1982, he began his 18 year career as an art instructor at Ventura College, where he met his future wife, Jo. She was his student and they were married in 1986.
In 1984, Kirk was commissioned to illustrate the Olympic water events at Lake Casitas. Kirk was aslo the cover artist for the popular Ventura County Design House tours (no longer in existence). His paintings have won countless awards, and he has shown in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California Museum of Science and Industry, L.A. Municipal Gallery, the Riverside Art Museum, the Downey Art Museum, the Santa Paula Art Museum, and the Ventura County Museum of History and Art. Kirk is a Signature Member of the National Watercolor Society, Watercolor West and the Gold Coast Watercolor Society.
Although Kirk has worked in other mediums, he is best known for his watercolors. He enjoys capturing the “underbelly” of things, such as a rusted old truck or a dilapidated barn set in nature. Kirk has contributed greatly to art and artists in Ventura County. Respected artist Hiroko Yoshimoto noted that Norman Kirk has “profoundly influenced and continues to shape art and culture in Southern California.”
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