GODFREY – Lewis and Clark Community College Art faculty don’t just teach art – they’re also working artists. Their students learn and benefit from not only their instruction, but also their experiences.
Professor of Art Jeff Vaughn is a shining example, and his work is being featured in multiple exhibitions this spring.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
Closest to home is the SIUE Invitational, which runs March 1-26. Vaughn was invited by SIUE Professor John DenHouter, Foundations, to participate, and is one of nine artists featured in the show.
Four paintings are featured, among them a new piece “A Pink Rose,” 2021, oil on linen, 10x10”. The others include “Thicket #39, Crabapple Trees,” 2014, oil on canvas, 40x60”, courtesy of Duane Reed Gallery in St. Louis; “Thicket #36,” 2013, oil on canvas, 24x48”, and “Thicket #26,” 2010, oil on canvas, 30x60”, each from private collections.
“I chose these paintings since they seem to complement each other and portray the four seasons,” Vaughn said.
A Zoom reception and artist talks will be held at 5 p.m., Tuesday, March 16 (Meeting ID: 923 2028 6289). The exhibit is open for viewing from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Visitors must contact the art office at (618) 650-3183 or (618) 650-3073 for access.
Learn more at https://www.siue.edu/artsandsciences/art/gallery-and-events/events/event-invitational-exhibition.shtml.
Vaughn is also featured in a group exhibit entitled “Places,” at the Center of Creative Arts (COCA) in St. Louis.
“Places” began Feb. 12 and will run through April 11 at the Millstone Gallery at COCA, presented by the Arthur and Helen Baer Charitable Foundation, with additional support from the Millstone Foundation and the Missouri Arts Council.
The exhibit, curated by Nancy Newman Rice, features paintings, drawings and photographs depicting spaces real or imagined, including Vaughn’s painting “Lilies After the Rain,” 2020, oil on canvas, 36x36”.
“There is a sense of freedom that I experience when painting landscape,” Vaughn said. “I generally choose to depict the quiet, peaceful aspect of the natural world. There is a contemplative manner to the approach that I take when studying and painting from the land. As one delves more deeply into the act of painting, the image evolves as a work about painting itself. Through these concerns, I hope to convey the quiet beauty of nature.”
Learn more at https://www.cocastl.org/event/places/.
Vaughn’s work can be admired across the country, including at the George Billis Gallery in Westport, Connecticut. His newest painting for the gallery is “Roses in Warm Light,” 2021, oil on canvas, 24x24.”
“In the studio, the painting develops with a grisaille style under-painting followed by a finished layering of blended colors,” Vaughn said. “I work from photographs that are made typically with a medium format camera, and choose images that have an attractive quality of light and abundant detail. Dramatic light enhances the translucent interplay of light and shadow on blossoms and leaves. Soft light allows for purer color and subtle explorations of shadow.”
Learn more at www.GeorgeBillis.com.
Vaughn, from Alton, received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1978 from Washington University, St. Louis, his Master of Arts degree in 1981 and Master of Fine Arts degree in 1983 from the University of Dallas. He has been with Lewis and Clark since Fall 2007 and plans to retire from teaching full time at the end of the spring semester.
His paintings have been published in New American Paintings and reviewed in the American Arts Quarterly, American Art Collector and the St. Louis Post Dispatch. He has been exhibiting his paintings and photographs throughout the United States for over 30 years. His work can be found in numerous public and private collections such as the U.S. Department of State (Washington, D.C.); Anheuser-Busch Inc. (St. Louis, Missouri); Washington University School of Medicine (St. Louis, Missouri); Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest (Louisville, Kentucky); and Kentucky Public Radio (Louisville, Kentucky).
Learn more at www.jeffreyvaughn.com.
Lewis and Clark Community College offers an Associate in Fine Arts degree, with a Fine Arts emphasis. The degree requires the completion of 61 credit hours, which include 31 hours of general education, and 30 credit hours in art, including electives in ceramics, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture and drawing.
Summer courses are enrolling now. Fall registration opens March 15.
For more information about L&C’s Art program, visit www.lc.edu/program/AFAart/. To enroll, call/text the Enrollment Center at (618) 468-2222 or enroll@lc.edu.
More like this:
