Drawing + Painting Faculty

Alla Bartoshchuk is a storyteller at heart and uses symbolic imagery to tell those stories. The symbols in her work are usually implied and are not always used in a literal sense. Rather they are private, imaginative images that arise from the depth of the psyche and embrace the surreal quality of dreams, fantasies and premonitions. She often employs human body to tell a story and convey specific emotions. Even the tiniest movement of a muscle isn't arbitrary. Every detail, every movement adds to the drama of the overall painting. Born in Rivne Ukraine, Alla received her BFA from Memphis College of Art (2010) and later completed her MFA at Laguna College of Art and Design (2013). She currently lives and works in Huntington Beach, CA.

Alejandro Buchner was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina where his passion and career in the visual arts began. Alejandro studied fine arts at the University of Bellas Artes and trained privately with artist Fernando Arranz. Alejandro has worked as a digital artist developing concepts for animated commercials and advertisements and has worked in concept design for Le Elephant Blanc in Paris, France. Since returning to the United States, Alejandro has exhibited his figurative sculpture throughout Southern California and teaches classical drawing and sculpture in Los Angeles and Orange County.

Matteo Di Ventra is a contemporary painter who works in traditional and digital media. His work has been displayed in multiple galleries on the West Coast. He is currently teaching representational painting at Laguna College of Art and Design as well as other art academy’s in Orange County and Los Angeles. Matteo also works within retirement communities and memory care facilities sharing his passion for art to Seniors.

Averi Endow is a painter from Southern California. He received his Bachelorʼs degree in Drawing + Painting from Laguna College of Art + Design (LCAD) in 2012 where he was a recipient of the Weingart Foundation grant of the West Coast. His work can be found in the permanent collection at LCAD and in the private collections of admirers in and around Orange County. He is currently pursuing his MFA degree in Painting at LCAD and works out of his studio in Aliso Viejo where he also teaches privatel

Ananda Fetherston received her education at the City College of New York in Mathematics and Physics. After discovering the work of painter, Jacob Collins, Ananda chose to abandon her graduate studies to join the prestigious full time student body of the Grand Central Atelier. Upon graduating from the Grand Central Atelier, Ananda assumed the position of Director of Public Programs for the school. She is also currently an instructor there with an emphasis on figure drawing, color theory and materials. Ananda's work is heavily, albeit indirectly, influenced by the quatroccento and the Italian Mannerists. She is the author of "The Whimsy Manifesto", an essay outlining an artistic ethos she calls whimsy. Her work can be found in private collections around the world and she is the recipient of the 2021 Ancient Worlds, Modern Communities grant by the Society for Classical Studies.

James Galindo (b. 1983) is a Southern California oil painter and a graduate of Laguna College of Art & Design’s bachelors and masters programs. He is currently represented by Dawson Cole Fine Art in Palm Desert, CA, where he exhibits three dimensional paintings on glass and acrylic. Notable commissions include paintings for the Nolet Distillery in Schiedam, Netherlands, Green Valley Hospital in Tucson, AZ, and artwork featured in various shows and advertisements in the Los Angeles TV industry. James has taught at a number of art studios and colleges in Southern California, including Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art, Brentwood Art Center, Kazone Art Academy, FT Art Academy, Rio Hondo College, Saddleback College, Orange Coast College and Laguna College of Art and Design. James has more than 15 years of teaching experience and specializes in foundation level drawing and painting.

Emily Gordon has a BFA in Illustration and completed 7 years of private study with nationally known artist William Whitaker. Named as an “Artist to Watch” by Riviera magazine, her art has been juried into numerous exhibitions, including the prestigious ARC Salon held by the Art Renewal Center. She received her MFA in Painting from Laguna College of Art + Design and was invited to be a live demonstrator at the Huntington Library’s Brushstrokes: Beyond the Gallery event. Emily currently teaches art at the university level and exhibits her work in galleries in Utah and California.

Graduate Alumni: Painting

Kenny has been a fixture in the Los Angeles art scene since arriving in Venice Beach in 2001. He paints atmospheric interiors, cityscapes, and figure in his work, and has exhibited around the world. Drawn to quiet subjects, his muted palette and spare spaces evoke a calming energy. He has had over 20 solo exhibitions.

Kenny teaches figure painting and drawing at LCAD, as well as guiding students through their Senior Portfolio as they find their artistic individuality and voice. He has been an instructor with the school since 2006, full time since 2018.

He as studied at the atelier of Charles Cecil in Florence, with Frank Mason at The Art Students’ League of New York, and more recently he earned his MFA at Laguna College of Art + Design focusing on portraiture.

Kenny is an Assistant Professor of Painting and Drawing at Laguna College of Art + Design and was awarded the prestigious Elizabeth Greenshields Grant in 2016.

He currently shows at Koplin Del Rio Gallery in Seattle, George Billis Gallery in New York, and Galerie Mokum in Amsterdam.

Artist Gary Kim is internationally recognized for his paintings. Born in South Korea, he relocated to the United States in his late thirties. Before embarking on his career as a professional artist in New York, he worked as a successful illustrator for many years in South Korea. Additionally, he taught art and design at several colleges.

His artistic journey encompasses a diverse range of studies, from academic figurative drawing and painting to computer graphics. He pursued an MFA in Computer Arts at Pratt Institute in New York, while also earning an MFA degree in Advertising Design from HongIk University and a BFA degree in Painting and Drawing from Inha University in Korea.

As an artist and educator, Kim honed his skills under the mentorship of several prominent New York-based master artists, including Nelson Shanks, Daniel Greene, and Burton Silverman. This experience greatly influenced his development as a figurative artist.

For more information about Gary Kim and his work, visit www.garykimart.com.

Kelley Mogilka (b. 1995) is a figurative painter originally from Edmond, Oklahoma. After obtaining her BFA in Studio Art at Oklahoma City University in 2018, she attended a summer artist residency at Otis College of Art and Design that inspired her to relocate to California. Spending two years struggling as a working artist and taking online courses to improve her technical skill, she built up her portfolio to attend Laguna College of Art and Design for her Master of Fine Arts Degree in Painting. Since then, she has lived, worked, and studied out of Laguna Beach, winning several awards for her paintings at the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association and being featured in Southwest Art Magazine’s 21 Under 31, Young Artists to Collect Now. Mogilka is represented by Vanessa Rothe Fine Art in Laguna Beach and Pence Gallery in Davis where she was the recipient of their annual Emerging Artist Award.

Hope Railey is a passionate and driven fine artist and teacher who has dedicate the last 20 years to painting in the studio and teaching future generations of artists. Hope has exhibited throughout the country and was most recently featured in December 2021 issue of Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine, is an Associate Professor, and currently serves as chair of the Fine Arts department since 2011. She is a regional juror for the AXA Art Prize and has served on artist panels at the 2021 LPAPA Invitational.

Hilary McCarthy is a contemporary figurative painter living in Laguna Beach. She is currently adjunct faculty in the Fine Arts Department at Laguna College of Art + Design. Prior to that she lived in NYC for 18 years. Her work has been exhibited in numerous galleries in the United States and Europe. She received her BFA from Hartford Art School and her MFA from New York Academy of Art. She also attended The Art Students League and Columbia University. She has attended art residencies in Puglia, Italy; Victoria, Australia; Leipzig, Germany, and Johnston, Vermont. She received the Fostering Creativity in a Time of Crisis Grant in 2020 from the Laguna Beach Community Foundation.

“My paintings aim to be visual poetry based on dreams and the subconscious. As a subject in my recent work, the ocean is healing both physically and emotionally to me. It existed before we did. It is wiser than we are. We need it more than it needs us. I am constantly inspired by its majestic beauty. The women I paint in the foreground deal with the messy complexities of the human condition. In the background, the ocean forms a vast rhythmic backdrop. The narrative of the painting tests these two interfaces. “

Joseph Michael Todorovitch is a figurative artist in the Los Angeles area with an undivided curiosity for the academic traditions and the conceptual possibilities that proliferate the modern art world. He explores the craft with a naturalist’s lens, employing rich technical details and implied psychological narratives in his paintings. Awarded the Draper Grand Prize by the Portrait Society of America, his work has been included in exhibitions at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C., the Butler Institute of American Art, and the Beijing World Art Museum in China. An Assistant Professor at Laguna College of Art and Design in Southern California, Joseph has taught at various institutions nationally and abroad. Currently enrolled in the MFA program at LCAD devoted to the pursuit of mastery, he enjoys numerous gallery partnerships and is proudly represented by Maxwell Alexander Gallery in Los Angeles CA.

Daniel Von der Ahe is a writer/illustrator and teacher living in San Juan Capistrano. He trained at the Florence Academy of Art and has worked as a classical portrait artist, illustrator, and visual development artist for animation where he discovered a love for story and writing. He teaches figure drawing, color and painting in any medium. His teaching focuses on clear, strong, fundamentals to give students the ability to achieve any style, understand different types of expression, and ultimately discover their own. Everyone has a story and it’s worthwhile to develop the best, clearest way to tell it. Following his first illustrated novel, Daniel is currently completing his second novel in addition to working on his first hybrid graphic novel. Meanwhile, he keeps up with painting commissions and changing diapers.