John Kilduff

City within a City, Painting, Oil on Canvas

2024

An artist, television show host and widely recognized online celebrity, California-based American painter John Kilduff is known for his distinctive style, which can be described as a merge of Impressionism and Pop art. His paintings offer a lighthearted and relatable look at contemporary life, and feature everything from beach hats and sneakers to soup cans and beer bottles. 

In 1987, Kilduff earned his BFA from the Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles. He also studied comedy at The Groundlings Theatre School and the Los Angeles City College, in addition to getting his MFA from UCLA in 2008.

Kilduff came into the spotlight in 2001 when he began hosting a cable-access television show called Let's Paint TV, calling himself "Mr. Let's Paint." The show's live episodes typically involve Kilduff painting while he performs other activities, like playing ping pong, running on a treadmill or cooking. In 2006, he began uploading clips of the show to YouTube, which garnered worldwide attention. The series is now broadcast online. 

Kilduff has made numerous other television appearances over the years, including the Tyra Banks Show, where he painted Banks’s portrait live. In 2006, he painted David Hasselhoff on the red carpet of the VH1 Big Awards and also appeared on season two of America's Got Talent.

Ever the entertainer, Kilduff frequently holds in-person painting shows. In 2016, a show called "Bakery" at the Daniel Rolnik Gallery in Santa Monica was designed to mimic the look of a small pastry shop and, as Kilduff created paintings of a range of sweet treats for the event, it earned comparisons to the works of sculptor Claes Oldenburg and Wayne Thiebaud.

Kilduff lives and works in Los Angeles.

On 1stDibs, find original John Kilduff oil paintings, watercolor works and more.