Drawing MFA

A painter with interest in critical theory and modernism, Susan King received her MFA from USC. A professor of both art studio and art history, she also earned a MA in Art History at UC, Riverside and a PhD in Visual Studies at UC, Irvine. Her art historical thesis focused on the reception of German modernism in England, and her dissertation centered on surrealism in the late 1930s. In addition to presenting papers at College Art Association (CAA) annual conferences, she contributed a review to CAA Reviews on the Gettys J.M.W. Turner exhibition and catalogue.

Her other publications include a book review on European interwar avant-gardes and two book chaptersone on the painter Max Liebermann and another on the Womens Caucus for Arts legacy of honoring women in the visual arts. Susan leads the thesis writing seminars and is the thesis advisor in LCADs Drawing/Painting MFA program. Shes equally at home in artist studios, galleries, museums, libraries, and archives and is thrilled to share in the rich dialogue among LCADs MFA and liberal arts faculty and students.

Mason Williams (b. 1995) is a passionate landscape painter and teacher from Carmel, California. A haven for plein air painting, Williams birthplace became instrumental in his journey as an artist. He received his BA in Studio Art from Principia College in 2017, but it wasnt until after he attended a summer artist residency at Otis College of Art and Design in 2018 that his artistic path came full circle. Inspired and motivated to grow his technical skill, Williams took a job back home as studio manager at Carmel Visual Arts. During this time, he began apprenticeships with renowned Carmel artists Jesse Powell and John Burton. It was under their tutelage that Williams discovered his love for the landscape and plein air painting. In 2022, Williams graduated from the Laguna College of Art and Design with his Master of Fine Arts Degree in Painting. He was also featured in the Southwest Art Magazine’s article 21 Under 31, Young Artists to Collect Now, and he has exhibited work at the Laguna Art Museum, the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association, the California Art Club, and the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. Williams paintings are represented by two galleries in California, Vanessa Rothe Fine Art Gallery in Laguna Beach, and Skidmore Contemporary in Santa Monica.

Recently, Williams won the Landscape Award of Excellence for his painting in the Oil Painters of America Western Regional exhibition in Texas. Williams is also an adjunct professor for the Laguna College of Art and Design.