Kyle Ma, Star of India at Sunset, oil, 20 x 24.
Kyle Ma is no stranger to awards and accolades. Over the past few years the 21-year-old marvel has won some of the top prizes in the art world, including the $25,000 Gold Medal at Oil Painters of America’s National Juried Exhibition in 2021. Ma’s winning artwork, STAR OF INDIA AT SUNSET, is an impressive interpretation of a towering boat bathed in “golden hour” light.
Although his paintings often start from a life drawing or plein-air sketch, this particular piece began with photographs he took on a trip to California. “I returned to this spot in San Diego multiple times at various times of day to look for the right balance of large shapes and small shapes,” the artist explains. “The side of the ship was entirely in shadow, and that counteracted the smaller shapes of the rigging as well as the distant palm trees. I’m pleased with how I was able to harmonize all the elements despite it being a complex painting.”
Ma, who often captures the landscape, is currently working on a degree in geology at the University of Texas at Austin, and thus he understands the elements he observes in nature on a deep, scientific level. This understanding further informs his technique, which he has developed through self-education and through study with such instructors as Elizabeth Locke, Quang Ho, and Scott Christensen. When Ma graduates in 2022, he plans to become a full-time painter and continue growing as an artist through additional focused studies and on-site travel experience.
Find Ma’s work at Highlands Art Gallery, Lambertville, NJ; InSight Gallery, Fredericksburg, TX; Waterhouse Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA; Wilcox Gallery, Jackson, WY; and www.kylemafineart.com. —Allison Malafronte
This story appeared in the December 2021/January 2022 issue of Southwest Art magazine.