About the Artist
Virginia Kamhi
Pastel Artist
Visual Poetry | Virginia Kamhi, PSWC, AWA Associate with Distinction, Associate WAOW
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, and Jeanne Rosier Smith, Skip Whitcomb, and Gil Dellinger.
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.
Show judge Lizz Tucker commented about Kamhi's painting, Hilltop Sentinel, "There is such a peaceful quality about this painting. I love how the mountains are rendered with the light glow of the sky of early day behind them, and how the warm yellow grasses feel like they are quiet, but also gently moving. This feels so quintessential California and what our landscape looks like before it dries in the summer months."
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 smells, 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.
Kamhi has always been mesmerized by the rhythms of the oceans, and she spends hours observing, photographing, and painting plein air beside the sea. To Kamhi, this is an emotional and spiritual connection. Her paintings reflect the calming rhythmic movement and poetry of the surf.
Kamhi currently lives in Thousand Oaks, California, with her husband Victor and long-hair Chihuahua, Cha Cha.
Resume
Education
Kamhi has a Master's in Fine Art Painting from Academy of Art University and a BA from UCSB. She has been fortunate to have studied extensively with many eminent artists, among them Richard McKinley, Albert Handell, Lorenzo Chavez, Jeanne Rosier-Smith, Jacob Aguiar, Alain Picard, Liz Haywood-Sullivan, Skip Whitcomb, and Gil Dellinger.
Style
Virginia Kamhi describes her style as expressive or painterly realism. She mainly paints landscapes and seascapes in pastel and oil. Her pastel work is done on archival sanded paper and panels.
Museum Exhibitions
Hilbert Museum of California Art - PSWC's 39th Annual Pastels USA - 99 Voices in Pastel International Exhibition - 2025
Santa Paula Art Museum - Celebrating Nature: Paintings by the Allied Artists of the Santa Monica Mountains and Seashore - juried exhibition - 2025
Channel Islands Maritime Museum - The Living Ocean - Pastel Society of the Gold Coast juried exhibition - 2025
Channel Islands Maritime Museum - solo show - Along the Shore - 2024
Haggin Museum of Art - Pastels USA International Juried Exhibition - 2023
Santa Paula Art Museum– On Location in the Santa Monica Mountains and Seashore-2019
Haggin Museum of Art– Pastels USA International Juried Exhibition - 2019
Santa Paula Art Museum – Art About Agriculture – 2017
Wildling Museum of Art and Nature – Places of the Heart – 2016
Santa Paula Art Museum – Art About Agriculture – 2016
International and National Juried Shows
Rising Voices - California Art Club virtual exhibition - 2026
Pastels USA: 99 Voices International Exhibition - 2026
Make Your Mark! International Open Juried Exhibition - 2026
American Women Artists' Online Juried Exhibition - 2026
Westlake Village Art Guild Open Juried Exhibition - 2026
Thousand Oaks Art Association Open Juried Exhibition - 2026
IAPS Fall Webshow, Open Division - 2025
Pastels USA- 99 Voices International Exhibition - 2025
Make Your Mark! International Open Juried Exhibition - 2025
Westlake Village Art Guild Open Juried Show - 2025 (two works accepted, First Place award)
Dakota Pastels First Quarter Competition - 2025 (three works accepted, Honorable Mention)
Thousand Oaks Art Association Open Juried Exhibition - 2025 (two works accepted)
Pastel Society of Southern California 16th Annual Members' Exhibition (Second Place) - 2025
PSWC - MOOS 2025
Dust Off - Pastel Guild of Europe Open Online Pastel Competition - 2024 (Three works accepted)
Degas Pastel Society 20th Biennial National Online Exhibition - 2024
Pixel Pastel International Online Exhibition - 2024
Make Your Mark! International Open Juried Exhibition - 2024
IAPS Juried PastelWorld - 44th Open Division -Albuquerque International Conference (Honorable Mention) - 2024
PSWC - MOOS 2024
America Women Artists Online Juried Exhibition - 2023
Pure Color International Online Open Juried Exhibition - 2023
Make Your Mark! International Open Juried Exhibition - 2023
Pastels USA: 99 Voices in Pastel, 37th Annual International Exhibition - 2023
Make Your Mark! International Online Open Juried Exhibition - 2022 (Three works accepted)
99 Voices, Pastels USA 36th International Open Exhibition - 2022
Pure Color 5th International Juried Exhibition - 2021 (Two pieces accepted)
Make Your Mark! International Online Open Juried Exhibition -2021 (Three pieces accepted)
99 Voices, Pastels USA 35th International Open Exhibition - 2021 (Awarded signature status, PSWC)
Pure Color International Online Open Juried Exhibition - PSNC - 2020
Make Your Mark! International Open Juried Exhibition - 2020
PSNC - Pure Color International Online Open Juried Exhibition - 2019
Make Your Mark! International Online Open Juried Exhibition - 2019
Pastels USA International Juried Exhibition –2019
International Association of Pastel Societies Online Juried Exhibition – 2018
Pastels USA International Juried Exhibition -2018
Publications
Shoutout LA, March 25, 2026, https://shoutoutla.com/meet-virginia-kamhi-pastel-artist-and-instructor
Bold Journey Magazine, September 18, 2025, https://boldjourney.com/meet-virginia-kamhi
Shoutout LA, March 19, 2025, https://shoutoutla.com/meet-virginia-kamhi-fine-artist-and-pastel-teacher
Santa Clarita Valley Signal, January 2, 2025, "SCAA to Host Virginia Kamhi Pastel Demo"
Bakersfield Life, June 29, 2024, "ArT 2024 features Tehachapi landscapes and more," by Claudia Elliott.
Conejo Valley Lifestyle, April 2023, "Allied Artists Showcase Natural Beauty," p. 30-33.
Malibu Coast Lifestyle, April 2023, "Allied Artists Showcase Natural Beauty," p. 14-17.
Southwest Art, April/May 2022, "Close to Nature: Virginia Kamhi", Kristin Hoerth (editor)
scvnews.com, Jan. 14, 2021, "Artist Virginia Kamhi to Demonstrate Pastel Technique"
Montecito Neighbors, Oct. 2020, "The Art of Virginia Kamhi," by Dan Keep
Santa Barbara Neighbors, Oct. 2020, "The Art of Virginia Kamhi," by Dan Keep
Invitationals
Arts Tehachapi 2026
Arts Tehachapi 2025
Hillcrest Galleria - featured artist - Environment and Ecosystems - March 26 - June 10, 2025
Arts Tehachapi 2024
Channel Islands Maritime Museum - solo show, Along the Shore - May 16 - Sept. 18, 2024
Santa Barbara Museum of Art Women's Board – Off the Wall Reimagined- 2023
Santa Barbara Museum of Art Women's Board – Off the Wall Invitational- 2019
Recent Awards/Shows
First Place - Westlake Village Art Guild Open Juried Exhibition, pastel and graphics (2026)
First Place - Westlake Village Art Guild Open Juried Exhibition, pastel & graphics (2025)
Second Place - Pastel Society of Southern California 16th Annual Members' Exhibition, Gold Division (2025)
Honorable Mention - Dakota Pastels First Quarter Competition, Established Artist Division (2025)
Honorable Mention - The Living Ocean - Channel Islands Maritime Museum (Feb. - March 2025)
Third Place - Summer Show, Arts Council of the Conejo Valley (August 2024)
FAV15 - Bold Brush Competition (June 2024)
Award of Merit - IAPS Juried Pastelworld, 44th Open Division
Second Place - California Art League "Small Things" show, TAG gallery, Los Angeles (Jan. 2024)
American Women Artists Online Juried Exhibition (2023), awarded Associate with Distinction
Third Place - Summer Show, Arts Council of the Conejo Valley (August 2023)
Honorable Mention- Westlake Village Art Guild Members Show (Jan. 2023)
Spring Show- Academy of Art University- 2022
Artist's Choice Award - Santa Paula Society of the Arts 85th Annual Exhibition (March 2022)
Signature Status - Pastel Society of the West Coast (August 2021)
Solo Show - Faulkner Gallery East, Santa Barbara (Jan. 2021)
Third Place - Westlake Village Art Guild 2021 Members Show (Jan. 2021)
Best of Show - 4th Annual Skies Competition- Fusion Art (August 2020)
Third Place - Santa Paula Society of the Arts 83rd Annual Exhibition (March 2020)
FAV15 - Bold Brush Competition (Feb. 2020)
Third Place - Thousand Oaks Art Association Open Juried Show (Feb. 2020)
FAV15 - Bold Brush Competition (Oct. and Nov. 2019)
Adah Callahan Award - Ventura County Fair Pro Arts (July 2019)
Fourth Place - Ventura County Fair Pro Arts (July 2019)
FAV15- Bold Brush Competition (June, July, and Oct. of 2018)
Honorable Mention – Santa Paula Society of the Arts 82ndAnnual Exhibition – March 2019
Honorable Mention - Thousand Oaks Art Association Open Juried Show- February 2019
Second Place - Westlake Village Art Guild Annual Member Show - January 2019
Second Place – From the Mountains to the Seashores – La Galeria Gitana – June 2018
Third Place, Pastels/Graphics Arts Council of the Conejo Valley – May Show 2018
Third Place, People’s Choice – Ventura County Pastel Artists - May 2018
Second Place, Silver Division – PSSC Ninth Annual Members’ Exhibition - 2018
Third Place, Pastels/Graphics – Conejo Valley Open Juried Show – 2018
First Place, Pastels/Graphics”– Westlake Village Art Guild Member show -2018
First Place People’s Choice Award- Ventura County Pastel Artists – May 2017
Second Place, Graphics – Arts Council of the Conejo Valley- May 2017
Second Place, Graphics - Westlake Village Art Guild Open Juried Show- April 2017
Second Place Best Interior/Landscape – PSSC Annual Member Show – 2016
Adabeth Holcombe Memorial Award- Faulkner Gallery, SBAA - Dec. 2016
Representation
480 Lighthouse Gallery, Pacific Grove, CA
Gallery 113, Santa Barbara, CA
West Hills Gallery, Ojai, CA
Affiliations
Pastel Society of America
Women Artists of the West (Education Chair)
American Women Artists (Associate with Distinction)
Pastel Society of the West Coast (Signature Status)
California Art Club
Pastel Society of the Gold Coast (vice president, show chair)
Pastel Society of Southern California (sponsorships procurement)
Ventura County Creative Artists
Allied Artists of the Santa Monica Mountains and Seashore (newsletter editor, show chair)
Westlake Village Art Guild
Santa Barbara Art Association
SCAPE
American Society of Marine Artists
California Art League
Public Collections
City of Thousand Oaks Transit Center
Private Collectors Include (Short List):
Dr. and Mrs. F. T. Wu – Thousand Oaks, CA
Jonathan and Sharon Foster – Sacramento, CA
Stephanie Leach – Calabasas, CA
Joe Martinez – Simi Valley, CA
Allison and Jeff Gingo – Akron, Ohio
Vernon Alferd – Goleta, CA
Stacy and Kevin Colton – Pacific Palisades, CA
Jaime Verdugo – Oxnard, CA
Todd Collart – Ventura, CA
Kirk and Magdalena Whisler – Carlsbad, CA
Robin Kirk – Redondo Beach, CA
Jeppe Green Sorenson – Aarhus, Denmark
Chia Hsun and Andy Meir - Zurich, Switzerland
Jette Green - Ribe, Denmark
Fred and Kay Fletcher - Wayne, PA
Robert and Maxine Dunn - Troy, Illinois
Thalia and Bill Sharp - Veneta, OR
Additional Recent Art Experience
Two-day workshop for Westlake Village Art Guild, June, 2026
Demo for Westlake Village Art Guild, May 5, 2026
Demo for Santa Paula Art Museum, September 25, 2025
Demo for Pastel Society of Southern California, Themed Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025 (on their YouTube channel)
Judge for Oxnard Union High School District Student Art Show, 2025- Farr Gallery, Channel Islands Maritime Museum
Demo for Santa Clarita Artists Association, January 27, 2025
Two-day workshop for Westlake Village Art Guild, January, 2025
Demo and mini workshop for Pastel Society of Southern California, November 9, 2024
Two-day workshop at Destination: Art, Torrance, CA, Sept. 2024
2 two-day workshops for Westlake Village Art Guild, June 2024, Thousand Oaks Community Gallery
Judge for Oxnard Union High School's 2024 Student Art Show-Farr Gallery, Channel Islands Maritime Museum
Quick-paint for PSSC 15th Annual Members' Exhibition
Pastel Teacher, Beginners' Class for Pastel Society of Southern California, February 2024
Paint-off to raise funds for the WVAG student art scholarship, January, 27, 2024
Teach Private and Semi-private classes in my home studio 2023 to present
Beginners Class teacher for Pastel Society of Southern California, Aug. 2022
Pastel Demonstration- Pastel Society of Southern California, June 12, 2021
Pastel Demonstration - Santa Clarita Artists Association, January 18, 2021
Pastel Demonstration - Westlake Village Art Guild, Feb. 4, 2020
Pastel Demonstration - Santa Paula Art Museum, Oct. 3, 2019
Frequent plein air demo artist for the Allied Artists of the Santa Monica Mountains and Seashore
Co-authored exhibition proposal for the Allied Artists that was accepted by the Santa Paula Art Museum
Pastel Teacher, Conejo Valley Adult Ed, Jan. 2019 to present
Artist's Statement
I have always been drawn to the natural beauty that surrounds me. I am fascinated by the ways in which the same exact scene can look so different depending on the time of day or season, the weather, or the lighting. I enjoy painting “en plein air,” and even when I don’t begin my paintings outdoors, I often spend many hours in just one spot studying the light and taking in the smells, the warmth or chill of the air, the nuances of the shadows, and taking hundreds of photos to use for reference back in the studio. I feel this sensory input translates into the mood of each painting.
Pastels are my passion, and I am often asked how I get such vibrant, rich color with pastels. I know the term, “pastel,” can be confusing. The fashion industry uses the word to refer to pale, soft colors. Artists’ pastels are actually pure, powdered pigments bound with a small amount of gum binder, then rolled into sticks. These pigments are the same ones used for oil paints or watercolors. Sometimes when people see these little sticks, they think that pastels are chalk, but chalks are cheap and impermanent. Pastels are really the most permanent of all media when painted on archival materials and properly framed, and they are definitely not cheap.
I work almost exclusively on archival sanded paper, and because pastels can’t be mixed in the same way as oil paints, I have thousands of pastels of various colors and brands. Harder pastels serve as my go-to first layer, with the softer pastels added as icing on the cake. Often I begin with a watercolor under-painting, or sometimes I begin with a loose pastel roadmap washed in using alcohol on a brush. I begin with the dark areas, because lighter colors can be applied on top of dark, but attempting the reverse creates mud and the painting will lose its vibrancy. Each painting starts out as a very rough, abstract dream. Then I gradually bring the painting to life. It is a game of painstaking back and forth that can take many hours and often many weeks as I perfect each small area until I am satisfied with the results. If I can recreate the same emotions that initially drew me to the scene, I know my painting is finished.
