Meet Our 2026 Juror

Kim Lordier

Kim Lordier is a California native whose paintings explore the design of nature and the transformative power of light. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Academy of Art University and the University of San Francisco. Though her early career included work as a flight attendant and competitive horsewoman, the events of September 11, 2001, became a turning point, solidifying her commitment to painting as her life’s work.

Working primarily in pastel, Lordier is recognized for her rich color, strong value structure, and tapestry-like mark making. Her work reflects a deeply personal and spiritual connection to the outdoors, distilling the Western landscape into bold patterns of light, atmosphere, and mood.

After more than two decades devoted to painting the American West from life and in the studio, Lordier has woven her lifelong passion for the horse into her compositions. Drawn to their strength, grace, and quiet intelligence, she places horses within their natural environment — portraying working stock, performance horses, and wild mustangs as both powerful and gentle beings, bound to the land and to humanity.

Her paintings are included in public and private collections nationwide and have been exhibited at the Autry Museum of the American West, the Coors Western Art Show, Maynard Dixon Country, the National Arts Club, the Salmagundi Club, Forbes Galleries in New York, the Haggin Museum, Pasadena Museum of California Art, Irvine Museum, Hilbert Museum, and the Laguna Art Museum.

Lordier’s work has appeared on the covers of Art of the West, PleinAir Magazine, Southwest Art, and The Pastel Journal, and has been featured in Western Art & Architecture and Fine Art Connoisseur. She has received numerous honors at major plein air events, national pastel society exhibitions, museum shows, and international competitions.

She is a Signature Member of the Plein Air Painters of America, the California Art Club, the Pastel Society of America, and the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association, and is a Pastel Laureate of the Pastel Society of the West Coast. A highly regarded instructor, Lordier teaches workshops throughout the country.

Baby It’s Cold by Kim Lordier