Drawing + Painting

Department Chair

Joseph Todorovitch

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…

Associate Professor

Brittany Ryan

Brittany Ryan is a Southern California-based contemporary figurative sculptor. She received her formal education at the Laguna College of Art and Design (LCAD), graduating in 2005 with a BFA in Illustration and a minor in Sculpture, followed by an MFA in drawing and painting in 2010. Since 2014, she has given back to her alma…

Adjunct Faculty

John Brosio

John Brosio was born in 1967 in Pasadena, California. He has been drawing for as long as he can remember and those earliest scribbles depict much of the same "off center" subject matter that concerns him today. Apart from various travels his life has been based in either Southern California where he was raised or…

Adjunct Faculty

Aleah Chapin

Aleah Chapin (b. 1986 Whidbey Island, WA) is a painter whose direct portrayals of the human form have expanded the conversation around western culture’s representations of the body in art. She has exhibited in solo and group shows throughout the world, including Flowers Gallery (New York, London, Hong Kong), The Belvedere Museum (Vienna), Cascadia Art…

Adjunct Faculty

Averi Endow

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…

Adjunct Faculty

Natalia Fabia

Adjunct Faculty

Champman Hamborg

Chapman Hamborg’s paintings and sculptures vary from still life, landscapes, and figurative work. His primary body of work captures interactions between his wife and children—related to birth, breastfeeding, fatherhood, and motherhood. Chapman was born in Huntington Beach, California, in 1992. Chapman graduated from Angel Academy of Art in Florence, Italy, and earned his BFA and…

Adjunct Faculty

Kayla Janes

Kayla Janes is a fine artist located in Laguna Beach, CA. Janes received both her Bachelor's degree and Master's degree from Laguna College of Art and Design. From growing up along the California coast, Janes's artwork reflects her nostalgic love of the world around her. Sun drenched scenes of familiar people or places inspire Janes's…

Adjunct Faculty

Rupinder Kaloti

Rupy Kaloti is a multimedia artist and instructor born in San Jose, California. She is currently based in Los Angeles, California. She primarily works with oil paint to create traditional and 3D works fusing elements from her Indian heritage and American upbringing.

Adjunct Faculty

Ryanne Phillips

Adjunct Faculty

Christian Ramirez

Christian Ramirez is a first-generation Mexican-American artist born and raised in San Gabriel Valley, CA. Ramirez completed his MFA at Michigan State University as a University Enrichment Fellow in 2023. His studio practice explores the possibilities of constructing a system of working as an arena for social and political anxiety. Informed by his mestizo hybrid…

Adjunct Faculty

Olivia Stude

Olivia Stude is a contemporary oil painter who creates allegorical narrative scenes that address themes of identity and religion in outdoor settings. Olivia exhibits her paintings in galleries in California and Louisiana. She received her BFA and MFA from Laguna College of Art and Design. Olivia has taught kids and teens at multiple art studios…

Adjunct Faculty

Thadius Taylor

Adjunct Faculty

Agostino Vaccaro

Adjunct Faculty

David Van Patten

Dave Van Patten is a muralist and illustrator from Long Beach CA, best known for his playful imagery and humorous tone. As a freelancer, Dave has worked with Warner Music Group/ Rhino Records, Starbucks, Whole Foods, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Yeti, NPR, Hollywood Reporter, Liquid Death, and various local businesses. In 2023 Van Patten won a…

Adjunct Faculty

Alejandro Buchner

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…

Adjunct Faculty

Rachel Chang

Adjunct Faculty

Matteo Di Ventra

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 academies in Orange County and Los Angeles. Matteo also works within…

Adjunct Faculty

Matthew Duckett

Matt Duckett is a painter whose work examines the ghosts of tradition that inhabit our lifestyles, drawn from a deep involvement in the various places he’s lived, including Scandinavian cultural legacies in rural Wisconsin, the interplay of heritage and hardship in Irish immigrant communities in Chicago, and disaster-stricken refugee communities in the Philippines, investigating issues…

Adjunct Faculty

James Galindo

James Galindo (b. 1983) is a Southern California oil painter and a graduate of Laguna College of Art & Design's bachelor's and master's 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…

Adjunct Faculty

Emily Gordon

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…

Adjunct Faculty

Cody Jimenez

Working in the style of Imaginative Realism, Cody Jimenez constructs vivid and imagined universes. In these worlds, emotions take physical form, radiating vibrant colors into their surroundings. With animals, humans, and narrative composition, Jimenez delves into the dualities of beauty and danger, offering a deeply personal exploration of his own life experiences. Originally from New…

Adjunct Faculty

Adam Matano

Adam Matano is a contemporary representational artist specializing in sculpture. His work is an organically evolving process combining a visceral reaction to life, his interest and admiration for the natural world and our relationship with it. The exploration of these ideas allows for psychologically dense, rhythmic artwork. Adam's interest and involvement with nature and the…

Adjunct Faculty

Kelley Mogilka

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…

Adjunct Faculty

Michael Obermeyer

Michael was presented with the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015. He recently won the Collector's Choice Award, Artist Choice Award and the Southwest Magazine Quick Draw Award at the Laguna Beach Invitational Plein Air Competition as well as the "Best of Show" at both the Kern County Plein Air Invitational…

Adjunct Faculty

Hilary Schmidt McCarthy

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…

Adjunct Faculty

Betty Shelton

Betty Shelton is an accomplished and award-winning artist whose work has been exhibited extensively in the United States. Betty has received numerous painting and drawing awards throughout her artistic career, most notably she has been a finalist in the Art Renewal Center Salon, and the 6th Annual TAPPED at the Manifest Gallery. She has shown…

Adjunct Faculty

Eric Stoner

Adjunct Faculty

James Thistlethwaite

Adjunct Faculty

Daniel Von der Ahe

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…

Adjunct Faculty

Gary Musgrave

Gary Musgrave is a Southern California-based problem-solver, illustrator, designer, and educator with both a BFA from the Art Center College of Design and an MFA in Illustration from California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). With 15 years of professional commercial experience, his work spans editorial illustration, branding, public art, and design, showcasing his versatility and…

Adjunct Faculty

Suzanne Shifflett

Suzanne M. Shifflett has a bachelors in sculpture from Maine Collage of Art, and a masters in painting from Laguna College of Art and Design. She has shown work in four different museums across the United States, Oceanside Museum of Art, Laguna Museum of Art, Bakersfield Museum of Art, and The Detroit Museum of Modern…