KIM BUCK

Kim Buck was born in the South East town of Mount Gambier, South Australia. Much of her childhood was spent at her family’s book shop, which unsurprisingly fostered a love of writing and research. She began a Bachelor of Psychology at Adelaide University in 2003 before deferring to travel and explore other career options. Kim stumbled upon an ability to produce realistic pencil drawings in 2006. Sketching at home soon lead to a number of commissioned portraits for family and friends. A chance conversation about charcoal with a customer at her hospitality work place changed the course of her art career forever. Following that fateful discussion, Kim discovered a natural affinity for the medium of charcoal. Through a largely self taught process, she has mastered the art of representational figurative drawing and its potential for illustrating her ideas. Since 2007 Kim has held three sell out solo exhibitions and been an active participant in group shows around Adelaide. She recently completed a Bachelor of Visual Art (Drawing) at the South Australian School of Art. Kim was recently announced as the winner of South Australia’s top award for an arts graduate - the $5000 Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Award. Earlier this year, her drawing Faithless (the weight of it all) was awarded the $5000 2010 Limestone Coast Art Prize. Kim also won the People’s Choice Prize at the 2010 Helpmann Academy Graduate Exhibition, which featured the work of 30 graduating students from South Australia’s tertiary art institutions. She was also selected as a finalist in the National Youth Self Portrait Prize at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra in 2009.