Jim Kirk
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Mr. Kirk earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas after having dropped out of high school to serve in World War II. He also studied at Chouinard and Kansas City Art Institutes. He received his Master of Fine Arts degree from Colorado State University.
Mr.Kirk's teaching career spans fifty years. He served as elementary art specialist, junior high, senior high and junior college art teacher. For twenty-five years he taught watercolor, life drawing, photography, art history, and art education at Western Oregon University in Monmouth, Oregon. As a member of the pilot team that worked to merge the Schools of Education at Western Oregon and Oregon State, Mr. Kirk taught elementary art education on the Oregon State campus. He is Professor of Art, Emeritus at Western Oregon University.
As a studio artist Mr. Kirk is known for his watercolor figures and portraits. He has exhibited throughout the Northwest in group and one-man shows and has received awards at the Oregon State Fair, the Portland Art Museum, and the Spokane Annual. He is represented by Hanson Howard Gallery in Ashland and is a member of the Salem Art Association.