Virginia   Kamhi     

Virginia Kamhi

Much as a poet uses words to express spirit, emotion, and beauty of thought, pastel artist Virginia Kamhi paints painterly realistic paintings that convey the poetry, imaginative power, and rhythms of the natural wonders that surround her. 

Growing up in Southern California, Kamhi spent many childhood hours roaming the hills around her home and many weekends bodysurfing in the ocean.  These early memories perhaps influence her art, because California landscapes and seascapes are her preferred subjects.

A graduate of UC Santa Barbara, Kamhi holds a Master's in Fine Art Painting from Academy of Art University.  She has studied extensively with many eminent artists, among them, Richard McKinley, Albert Handell, Lorenzo Chavez, Liz Haywood-Sullivan, Jeanne Rosier Smith, and Ojai Artists Bert Collins and Jannene Behl.

Although Kamhi also works in other media, pastels are her passion because of their tactile quality and unique ability to paint the visual poetry that nourishes her soul.  She loves to hike in the local mountains and observe the essence of the sunlight, the complexity of form in the landscape, the interaction of light and shadow.  She feels it is a privilege to closely observe what others fail to see in the course of their hurried lives.

Kamhi is influenced by great California painters such as Franz Bischoff and Edgar Payne, but also adores the French impressionists.  She believes it is important to spend time outdoors in nature to examine the quality of light and the play of shadows at different times of day.  She feels that when you are outside in nature you absorb the essence of the scene: the smell, the warmth or chill of the air, the movement and sounds.  All of these sensory images become a part of your paintings and lend them a transcendent quality.

Shows of note: Solo show at Channel Islands Maritime Museum, Solo show at Faulkner Gallery in Santa Barbara, Featured Artist at Gallery 113 in Santa Barbara on six occasions, inclusion in 17 international online open juried exhibitions, inclusion in 7 museum exhibitions, and numerous local exhibitions.

Affiliations: Pastel Society of the West Coast (signature member), Pastel Society of America, Pastel Society of Southern California (sponsorship chair), Santa Barbara Art Association, S.C.A.P.E., Allied Artists of the Santa Monica Mountains and Seashore (newsletter editor and show chair), American Women Artists (Associate with Distinction), California Art Club, Ventura County Creative Artists, and Westlake Village Art Guild.