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.
Ox-Bow wood's number 2, Painting, Watercolor on Watercolor Paper
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Plein air watercolor of the woods at Ox-Bow in Saugatuck, MI. :: Painting :: Impressionist :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity signed by the artist :: Re...
Watercolor
Red Still life #1, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Still life of red objects that I found laying around in my studio. :: Painting :: Impressionist :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authent...
Oil
Blue Still Life, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Still life of blue objects. Oil on canvas. :: Painting :: Impressionist :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity signed by the art...
Oil
Parking lot, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Large painting of a parking lot here in Los Angeles, California. Spray paint, acrylic and oil on canvas. :: Painting :: Fine Art :: This piece comes with an official certificate of a...
Acrylic
Car crashes into palm tree, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Painting based on a police chase that turned deadly as the driver smashed into a palm tree. I got the image from the TV news report. I painted over an older canvas so there's extra a...
Oil
Garage diptych, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Plein air oil painting of my garage at night. Oil on two canvases. :: Painting :: Impressionist :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity signed by the artist ...
Oil
Garage at night, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Plein air oil painting of my garage at night. :: Painting :: Americana :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity signed by the artist :: Ready to Hang: No :: S...
Oil
Backyard garden, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Plein air oil painting of the cactus garden in the backyard. :: Painting :: Impressionist :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity signed by the artist :: Rea...
Oil
Hollyhocks #6, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Plein air oil painting of hollyhocks in the backyard. :: Painting :: Impressionist :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity signed by the artist :: Ready to H...
Oil
Cactus plants #2, Painting, Watercolor on Watercolor Paper
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Plein air watercolor of the cactus plants in the backyard. I did two watercolors at the same time. The other one is listed too. It's titled "Cactus plants...
Watercolor
cactus plants #1, Painting, Watercolor on Watercolor Paper
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Plein air watercolor of the cactus plants in the backyard. I did two watercolors at the same time. The other one is listed too. It's titled "Cactus plants...
Watercolor
cactus plants oil #1, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Plein air oil painting of the cactus plants in the backyard. I also painted on another painting at the same time (cactus plants oil #2) which is also list...
Oil
cactus plants oil #2, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Plein air oil painting of the cactus plants in the backyard. I also painted on another painting at the same time (cactus plants oil #1) which is also list...
Oil
On Westward beach number 2, Painting, Watercolor on Watercolor Paper
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
I did two watercolors at the same time of this view on Westward Beach (The west end of Zuma Beach in Malibu, California). This is number 2. :: Painting :: Impressionist :: This piece...
Watercolor
Imac computer with Catalina Island on the screen, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Still life oil painting of an iMac computer with Catalina Island on the screen. For the price on a new iMac...You can buy a painting of an iMac instead. Also, the painting will m...
Oil
Lemon tree in the backyard, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
I have been painting this lemon tree in the backyard a lot during the quarantine. Spray paint, acrylic and oil on Canvas. If you look at the left window, you can see my portrait. :: ...
Oil
Palm perspective number 4, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Based on the rows of palm trees that are all over Los Angeles. Oil, spray paint and acrylic on Canvas. :: Painting :: Contemporary :: This piece comes with an official certificate of...
Acrylic
Palm Perspective #5, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
I always liked seeing the palm trees going into the horizon and thought it would be interesting to capture that feeling on a triangle shaped canvas. :: Painting :: Impressionist ::...
Oil
San Francisco Bay from Skyline BLVD, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Plein air oil painting of the San Francisco Bay from Skyline Blvd in Oakland, California. I am not sure the exact date but I think it was around 1995. :: Painting :: Impressionist ::...
Oil
Supermarket checkout, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Acrylic painting of the checkout line at Jons Supermarket in Los Angeles. :: Painting :: Impressionist :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity signed by the ...
Acrylic
Lazy Susan spice rack, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Still life of my spice rack. :: Painting :: Impressionist :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity signed by the artist :: Ready to Hang: No :: Signed: Yes ::...
Oil
Surfing Mendocino Bay, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Plein air oil painting of Mendocino Bay. Painted during the Mendocino plein air festival. :: Painting :: Impressionist :: This piece comes with an of...
Oil
Kilduff App, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
In 2019, there was this fun app that people could see how they would look like being older by submitting their photos. Not sure if this was some kind of data mining operation but it ...
Oil
Campbell soup cans, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
I painted a series of consumer products and ended up painting the classic Campbell soup can. Oil on canvas panels mounted on a wood frame. :: Painting :: Impressionist :: This piec...
Oil
30 planes landing into Burbank Airport, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
For a little over 3 hours on March 22, 2019, I painted all of the planes as they flew over my backyard. 30 paintings in all, each painting is 8" x 10". Oil on canvas panels. Panels m...
Oil
Zuma Beach, Malibu, Painting, Watercolor on Paper
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Plein air watercolor of Zuma Beach in Malibu, California. :: Painting :: Impressionist :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authe...
Watercolor
Portrait of osculating fan while on treadmill, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Still life portrait of an osculating fan while running on a treadmill. Streamed live on my Youtube channel: letspainttv :: Painting :: Impressionist :: This piece comes with an off...
Oil
Palm Perspective number 2, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
I always liked seeing the palm trees going into the horizon and thought it would be interesting to capture that feeling on a triangle shaped canvas. :: Painting :: Pop-Art :: This pi...
Oil
Beef Stew, Painting, Watercolor on Watercolor Paper
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Still life of a can of beef stew. Watercolor on Arches cold pressed 140 lb watercolor paper. :: Painting :: Pop-Art :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity s...
Watercolor
Hills Bros Coffee, Painting, Watercolor on Watercolor Paper
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Still life of an old can of coffee. Watercolor on Arches cold pressed 140 lb watercolor paper. :: Painting :: Pop-Art :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity...
Watercolor
Peanuts, Painting, Watercolor on Watercolor Paper
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Still life of a bag of peanuts. Watercolor on Arches cold pressed 140 lb watercolor paper. :: Painting :: Pop-Art :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity sig...
Watercolor
Bacardi Bottle, Painting, Watercolor on Watercolor Paper
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Still life of a bottle of Bacardi. Watercolor on Arches cold pressed 140 lb watercolor paper. :: Painting :: Pop-Art :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity ...
Watercolor
Coke Bottle, Painting, Watercolor on Watercolor Paper
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Still life of an old Coke bottle. Watercolor on Arches cold pressed 140 lb watercolor paper. :: Painting :: Pop-Art :: This piece comes with an offici...
Watercolor
7-up bottle, Painting, Watercolor on Paper
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Still life of an old 7-up bottle. Watercolor on Arches 140 lb cold pressed watercolor paper. :: Painting :: Pop-Art :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity s...
Watercolor
Olive tree in the backyard, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Plein air acrylic painting of the olive tree in the backyard. :: Painting :: Impressionist :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity signed by the artist :: Re...
Acrylic
Under the Olive tree number 2, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Painting of the olive tree in the backyard. Spray paint, acrylic and oil on canvas. :: Painting :: Impressionist :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity sign...
Oil
Hollyhock, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
I have been experimenting the last few years using spray paint, acrylic and oils on the canvas. I painted this en plein air in my backyard. :: Painting :: Contemporary :: This piec...
Oil
Still life of a jar of pickles, Painting, Watercolor on Watercolor Paper
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
I painted this jar of pickles live during my livestreaming show Let's Paint TV. :: Painting :: Impressionist :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity signed ...
Oil
Still life of a jar of pickles #2, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
I painted this jar of pickles live during my livestreaming show Let's Paint TV. Spray paint, acrylic and oils on Canvas :: Painting :: Pop-Art :: This piece comes with an official ce...
Oil
Tulips in a vase, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Painted these tulips that where in the dining room. I used spray paint, acrylic and oils on the painting. :: Painting :: Impressionist :: This piece comes with an official certificat...
Oil
Beverly Drive Rush Hour, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
This painting was done in the studio. Based on a plein air painting of the same view. I started the painting off using spray paint and acrylic paints and ended up using oils over mos...
Oil
Hollyhock Plein Air #2, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Plein air painting of a hollyhock flower in my backyard. I did another painting of the same hollyhock (Hollyhock #1) at the same time and made a video of the process. Here's the vide...
Oil
Goya's 3rd of May on a can of beans, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Painting of a famous Goya painting on a can of Goya beans. Oil and spray paint on can. :: Painting :: Pop-Art :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity signe...
Oil
Tulips in a vase, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Plein air oil painting of tulips in a vase. :: Painting :: Impressionist :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity signe...
Oil
Riding subway in NYC, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
I did a series of paintings in the studio based on sketches I did while riding the New York subways this summer (2016). :: Painting :: Impressionist :: This piece comes with an offic...
Oil
8th & Broadway, Los Angeles, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
This painting was painted on location at the corner of 8th & Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles, California. :: Painting :: Impressionist :: This piece comes with an official certific...
Oil
Cheesebro Oak, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Plein air painting (painted on location) of an oak tree at Cheesebro Park in Agoura Hills, California. :: Painting :: Impressionist :: This piece comes with an official certificate o...
Oil
Farmers and Merchants Bank, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Plein air painting of the Farmers and Merchants Bank in Downtown Los Angeles. :: Painting :: Impressionist :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity signed by ...
Oil
Hydrangeas #1, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
I did a series of paintings based on this Hydrangea plant I bought at the local supermarket. This one was the largest one I did. It is full of bold thick brushstrokes. :: Painting ::...
Oil
Hydrangeas #2, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
I painted this painting a number of years ago as part of a series I did on this Hydrangea plant I picked up at the local supermarket. The painting is full of big, bold, colorful, th...
Oil
Crossing the street, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
I did this painting in the studio while running on a treadmill. I have used the treadmill over the years in my performances and also in my studio paintings. What I like about running...
Oil
Orphium Theater, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
This painting was painted on location (p[lein air) in front of the Orphium theater in Downtown Los Angeles. :: Painting :: Impressionist...
Oil
Sari's Cactus Garden, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Plein air (painted on location) painting of Sari's cactus garden. :: Painting :: Impressionist :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authen...
Oil
17 mile drive, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Large painting of the beautiful coast near Carmel, California. Spray Paint and Acrylic on Canvas. :: Painting :: Impressionist :: This piece comes with an official certificate of aut...
Acrylic
Miracle Whip, Painting, Watercolor on Watercolor Paper
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Still life of a jar of Miracle Whip. Watercolor on Arches cold pressed 140 lb watercolor paper. :: Painting :: Pop-Art :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticit...
Watercolor
Zuma Beach #2, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Plein air oil painting of beachgoers on Zuma Beach in Malibu, California. :: Painting :: Impressionist :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity signed by the ...
Oil
7-up bottle, Painting, Watercolor on Paper
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Still life of an old 7-up bottle. Watercolor on Arches 140 lb cold pressed watercolor paper. :: Painting :: Pop-Art :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity s...
Watercolor
Hills Bros Coffee, Painting, Watercolor on Watercolor Paper
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Still life of an old can of coffee. Watercolor on Arches cold pressed 140 lb watercolor paper. :: Painting :: Pop-Art :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity...
Watercolor
Farmers and Merchants Bank, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Plein air (painted on location) at the corner of 4th and Main in Downtown Los Angeles, California. This painting was done for the 2018 Los Angeles Plein Air Festival. I won the Grand...
Oil
17 mile drive #2, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
By John Kilduff
Located in Yardley, PA
Large painting of the beautiful coast near Carmel, California. Spray paint, Acrylic and Oil on Canvas. :: Painting :: Impressionist :: This piece comes with an official certificate o...
Acrylic