"Tanimura and Antle" by Luis Peña, oil on wood, gold leafing

Studio Channel Islands in Old Town Camarillo presented its Award for Excellence in Art Studies on April 7th to Luis Peña, a California Lutheran University art major. The award was presented by Pat Richards Dodds at a ceremony at the Art Center Gallery.

In a strong show of support for the scholarship recipient, CLU was represented by President Chris Kimball; Joan Griffin, Dean of College of Arts & Science; Michael Pearce, Chair of the Art Department; Lynn Creighton, Senior Lecturer for the Art Department (and current exhibitor at Studio Channel Islands Gallery); and Terry Spehar-Fahey, Art Instructor.

Luis Peña’s work, together with runners up Samantha Richman and Cody Yan, will be on display at the gallery throughout the month of April.

Entrants for the scholarship must be college art majors with a goal of becoming full time artists. This year, California Lutheran University was invited to submit the portfolios of promising art students. The Award is based on the Scholarship Committee’s evaluation of the quality of the art work rather than the student’s financial need.

The Award for Excellence in Art Studies was created in honor of founding member and award presenter Pat Richards Dodds whose work is often on display at the Gallery.

The awards ceremony preceded Studio Channel Islands monthly “Meet the Artist” presentation featuring Susan Cook, Susan R. Kaufman and Lynn Creighton discussing their shared exhibit titled “Celebrating Life”.

Studio Channel Islands Art Center and Gallery is a non-profit organization with a fine arts gallery located at 2221 Ventura Boulevard and Artists Studios located directly across the street, at 2222 Ventura Boulevard. Gallery Hours: Tuesday 11am – 3pm; Wednesday – Friday 11am – 5pm; Saturday 10am – 3pm. Artists Studios are open to the public every Thursday through Saturday 11am – 5pm.