About Roy Kerckhoffs

I was born in the Netherlands in 1973 and have been interested in visual art for as long as I can remember. My father taught me to draw when I was about four, and I became fascinated by the Dutch Masters early on. When I was ten, my parents gave me a small point-and-shoot camera, which sparked my interest in photography.

In 2003, I moved to San Diego, California, to work as a scientist at UC San Diego after earning my PhD in bioengineering. Photography remained a strong personal interest, and in 2008 my wife Marie and I started Eyeball Photography, which later became Roy Kerckhoffs Art.

In 2014, I decided to leave my scientific career to focus full time on art. I now live in Carlsbad, California, with my wife and daughter, where I continue to create and exhibit my work.

Artist Statement

My work explores places with history and character. I’m drawn to bold textures that reveal the passage of time — weathered wood, rusted metal, aged concrete — and how these man-made forms contrast with the softer elements of nature. Many of my images focus on coastal and industrial settings where human presence and natural beauty meet. I’m interested not just in what these places look like, but in the stories they suggest.

Artistic Process

I create high-contrast black-and-white photographs and hand-tint them with pastels, acrylics, or oils. This approach is inspired by early photographic techniques that used transparent oils to add color by hand. Today, I also apply paint directly to photographs printed on canvas, using both thin washes and opaque layers.

Most of my materials are prepared in-house — from printing and stretching canvas to coloring, framing, and assembly. Most of my pieces are individually numbered, including my hand-tinted originals.