Born in Khon-Khan, Thailand in 1965, Veerakeat Tongpaiboon has made a splash in the United States arts scene. Tongpaiboon began painting when he was only ten years old; he attending the Demonstration School in Khon-Khan, which allowed him to explore his artistic mind and imagination. He realized that he continually performed better in his art classes than in any other subject, so when he was fourteen, he submitted some of his work for an international competition. When he won three awards in a row, Tongpaiboon realized that he wanted to spend his life as an artist.

Despite adversities, including his family’s insistence that he follow a practical career path, a move to another country, and financial hardships, Tongpaiboon eventually made that happen. He moved to San Francisco, California in 1992 to study and create art and in 1994 he graduated with a Master’s in Fine Art. Since then he has been a full-time artist. Tongpaiboon paints almost every day, sometimes all day. As a result, he creates about 250 paintings each year, although only twenty percent of them go to the gallery; the rest, he simply paints over, creating new images on top of the old ones. In these creations, he captures the light, the color, and the edgy energy of San Francisco with his heavy impastos and vibrant hues. As he explains it, “I love to capture the feeling of a single moment: The tail lights of the cars speeding; the light reflecting from the building; and the shapes of shadows.” It is his power of expression that makes Veerakeat Tongpaiboon one of the most beloved painters of San Francisco.