Roland Van Loon
FaraHNHeight
Fine Arts represents
Roland Van Loon
Van Loon’s work bridges the desert stories of Northern New Mexico with the oceanic pull of his Hawaiian roots. In this series, he explores what he calls the “paradoxical dream” — the feeling of being a saltwater fish in a freshwater tank. It’s about thirst in abundance, and the quiet realization that the more we learn, the less we know.
Through vivid color, layered imagery, and rich storytelling, Van Loon paints the in-between: land and sea, memory and myth, self and ancestry. Each piece invites viewers to reflect on belonging, transformation, and the unseen currents that shape us. “I loko o ke kai, loaʻa ka ʻike — In the ocean, knowledge is found.”
Van Loon currently lives and works in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He apprenticed with painter and “National Treasure”, Jean Charlot and graduated with a degree in Fine Arts from the University of Hawaii. Popular with locals and travelers to Santa Fe you’ll find vibrant murals by Van Loon at The Cowgirl and on world famous Canyon Road at El Farol. Van Loon’s work represents the movement, passion, joy, sensuality, and expressiveness that Santa Fe, New Mexico is most known for. He incorporates local lore and historical fact seamlessly.
After visiting Santa Fe and experiencing live Flamenco in Santa Fe, Van Loon left Hawaii, moved to Santa Fe and began capturing the excitement and intensity of the people and culture through the use of his vivid colors and ability to capture motion and feeling in his subjects. Many of his paintings seamlessly blend local figures with characters from New Mexico’s pantheon of saints, such as San Pascual, Saint Francis. These are sometimes set with mythical creatures. His paintings at once transform the viewer to another world, yet they honor actual people and events in our history and in his stories. Van Loon transports the viewer through his imagery, including the fun and emotion he experienced in those early golden days when he first came to New Mexico.
“I believe in uniting humanity in the common cause of appreciating and protecting our freedom to dream, our precious time on Earth, and our boundless courage that is the creative spirit.” -RVL
