Kirk Larsen

Painting and drawing since childhood (including pastels of tall ships and his first oil painting by age seven) and influenced by his father Captain John Larsen, Kirk Larsen worked on charter boats becoming an avid scuba diver and fisherman. He was destined to combine his love for art and the sea.

After graduating from The School of Visual arts with a BFA in Illustration, Kirk worked as an artist, illustrator, set designer, and portrait artist. His indulgence in plein air painting in the mid-nineties rekindled his love of the water and the boats upon it. His favorite scenes were and still are seascapes and wide open spaces. Most recently he has been part many plein air events including: Easton, MD; Frederick, NY; Callaway, ME; Cranford, NJ; Wayne, PA; New London, and Mystic, CT and Curacao,

In 2004 Kirk embraced his love for sailing and that indulgence has become an addiction. “The Shields Class and the classic wooden yachts are really my favorite boats to paint. I seek to convey that feeling of being on the water or in love with it, in my work.” Kirk is grateful to Donn Costanzo, Jeff Law, John McGrane and B.H. Lawrence for generously welcoming him into the world of the classics.

Kirk’s work has toured nationally as part of the American Society of Marine Artists’15th Contemporary American Maritime Art Show. He is the recipient of more than 100 awards for painting in oil, acrylic, watercolor, gouache, drawing, colored pencil, mixed media, pen and ink; plus sculpture in wood, clay, stone, and finally photography. He has touched on every subject matter from portraits and still life, landscapes to abstraction. Recent awards include: The Katlin Family Seascape Award from the Salmagundi Club, NY and Talent in Motion magazine’s Artist of the Year; Grand Prize and Collector’s Choice Awards at Easels in Frederick 2012; Grand Prize and Collector’s Choice at Paint the Town 2012 Quick Draw Plein Air. The Isabelle Steinschneider Memorial Award, Hudson Valley A.A. 80th Annual Exhibition. His work has been shown in 46 Solo Shows, multiple juried shows, the 31st, 32nd and 33rd Annual International Marine Art Exhibitions at the Maritime Gallery at Mystic Seaport; The Long Island Museum of Fine Arts, the Nassau County Museum of Art and The Islip Art Museum. He is a member of The Portrait Institute and Plein Air Painters of New York.

Kirk teaches and demonstrates art and is also a full-time actor pursuing film and television with an occasional stage appearance. He is an award-winning published writer of short stories, screenplays, essays and poetry, not surprisingly much of it about sailing and the sea.