MARK KERCKHOFF

A sixth-generation Californian, discovered his love of the landscape while growing up and hiking in rural Los Angeles County and seeing the snow-capped San Gabriel Mountains, which still run through many of his paintings like so many coastlines and canyons. However, otherworldly slices of the desert outskirts beyond the Coachella Valley also draw his interest, particularly the landscape along the Borrego-Salton Seaway, where he likes to camp and paint “the best arroyos in the low desert for color and design.” The common denominator: His paintings are steeped in tradition. The artists who inspire him include Hermann Herzog, William Keith, and Thomas Moran. Jean Stern, director emeritus of the Irvine Museum at University of California, Irvine, has noted that Mark’s paintings “show his superb ability to draw, his solidity of form and perspective, and most of all his unfailing facility with color. His paintings are always characterized by a unique and convincing sense of outdoor light, and like few other artists, he succeeds at producing the true effect of the fluidity of natural light.” Mark also teaches plein air classes and gives demonstrations, sharing his knowledge with artists looking to advance their skills.