kim o’neil
making large format, sophisticated multi layered abstract paintings in response her environment.
Born 1981 Kim O’Neil is an artist and a not-so-distant relation of John F Kennedy. She lives and works in Kent, UK as an artist, paint technologist and educator. Kim graduated from Central Saint Martins with a BA Hons Fine Art. Her notable tutors included Paul Eachus, Bill Henderson and Nooshin Farnid.
She has exhibited in group shows, including exhibiting alongside Maggie Hamblin, Paula Rego and Annie Kevans. Her work has sold to many private collections including Justin King of Sainsbury's supermarkets and John Robinson of Jigsaw. Kim’s debut show saw the entire collection of painting sold at the private view.
Kim has 20 years’ experience as an educator, initially teaching A level Art before establishing her own independent art school ‘Paint Modern,’ based in Surrey. In more recent years she has specialised in teaching abstract painting and drawing and teach at the Horsebridge.
Paint technologist and ambassador for Winsor & Newton and Liquitex since 2008, Kim has lectured and demonstrated on their behalf, so has expert knowledge of their products and their full potential. She has run workshops at London Graphic Centre, Great Art, Cass Art, and Jacksons in association with these brands, to name just a few. She has also lectured at Central Saint Martins UAL in partnership with Winsor & Newton. Art writing has also been another facet of Kim’s career and she has works published for Liquitex, Winsor and Newton, Ken Bromley, and London Graphic Centre’s blog.
Since January 2020 Kim has taken an artistic change of direction, making large format, sophisticated multi layered abstract paintings in response her environment. Her studio is located only a few miles from the coast and on the edge of ancient woodland where she edits the paintings which are predominantly made plein air.
Nature Collaborator
Kim O’Neil, an artist based in Kent, UK, creates experiential art that seamlessly blends with the earth’s essence. Her work, influenced by natural forces like the sea, rain, and twigs, features heavy layers of texture and fluid paint techniques. Kim’s canvas mirrors the dynamic interplay between herself and the environment.
Kim's artwork delves into a profound and complex philosophical inquiry. The boundary between artifice and the organic is often fluid and ambiguous. Artifice, typically seen as human-made or synthetic, contrasts with the organic, which is naturally occurring and life-based.
By blurring the lines between artifice and the organic in her work, she aims to challenge viewers to rethink the seek relationship between human creations and the natural world. This exploration inspires her to a deeper understanding of how we, as part of nature, impact and are impacted by the world around us.
We are delighted to have Kim as part of our Contemporary Kent Artists exhibition at The Horsebridge Arts Gallery on the 8th - 20th of October 2025.
Follow Kim on instagram to see more of her work and processess.
Which art movement do you consider most influential on your practice?
Abstract expressionism is the dominant influence on my practice. However, environmental art of the 1970s really speaks to me, including artists, like Andy Goldsworthy, who are very connected to nature in their practice.
Where do you go and when to make your best art?
Definitely plein air in nature. Flow and connection are the most important parts of my process. I set up with an unstretched canvas in a field, on the beach or in a wood. This is why my painting contains natural elements like sand, dried grasses etc. Everything around me is my studio, including using blades of grass to thwack paint onto canvas. I even immerse paintings in the sea, a river or leave them out in the rain to accomplish biomorphic marks within the painting.
Which artist, living or deceased, is the greatest inspiration to you?
Anselm Kiefer for obvious reasons; using organic materials in the painting, textured and multi layered work. I am also heavily influenced by Hieronymus Bosch, reflected in the colour palette I use. I remember being taken with the Bosch paintings in the Rijks museum, as a teenage art tourist, and similarly the dark Goya’s in the Prado gallery. These are artists who weren’t afraid to let their darkness show.
Read the full interview here.