Beginning in the fall of 2008 recent alumni of the Painting Program will be moving on to many exciting frontiers. Courtney Childress will be attending the Post-Baccalaureate Program at The Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. Heather Blackwell (MA 2007) is still attending Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, MI. While Youngsoon Chon (MA 2007) will be working towards her MFA degree in painting at The University of Iowa. Bob Costello (BFA 2006 - Painting/Photography) recently received his MFA from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. Likewise, Sharon Wasden (BFA 2005 - Painting/Digital Media) completed her studies at the San Francisco Art Intstitute.

Isadora Bullock (BFA 2005 - Painting/Printmaking) recently completed her MFA at The University of Delaware in Newark, DE as did Chandler Fulton-Pritchett (BA 2004 - Painting) from The University of Memphis in Memphis, TN.

Melinda Thomas (BA 2004) recently completed an artist residency at the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, VT and is living in Raleigh, NC. Bryce Speed (MFA 2005) was recently featured in the southern edition of New American Painting he also recently completed a six-week residency at the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts. Bryce has recently accepted a full-time faculty position at Ozarks Technical College in Springfield, MO. Paul Outlaw (BFA 2004 - Sculpture/Painting) is living in New York and working as an artist assistant for Peter Halley and past visiting artist Tony Matelli. He will be attending graduate school in the fall at the Cranbrook Academy of Art.

Greg Hopkins (BFA 2002, MA 2003 - Painting) has recently completed his MFA degree from the Rhode Island School of Design. He is currently living in Brooklyn, NY and working as the registrar for Bellwether Gallery in Chelsea. His work has recently been featured in several group shows in the Northeast including: "Open Painting" at the Providence Art Club; "Making Your Mark: On Paper" at the Brooklyn Arts Council; and "One Foot Square" in Brooklyn along with recent MFA graduates Bryce Speed (MFA 2005) and Lisa Michitti (MFA 2005). Lisa is teaching full-time at Virginia College in Birmingham and Bryce is teaching at The University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Samantha Rinehart Taylor (MFA 2005) is currently teaching at the Marion Institute in Marion, AL. New work from her series Vestige will be featured in a group exhibition in January at GULF Artspace in Fairhope, AL. Clayton Colvin (MFA 2005) recently exhibited his work in a solo exhibition at Material in Memphis, TN. He has recently taken a position as Curator of Education at Space 301 in Mobile, after several years running his own gallery project, Stealth Arts in Birmingham. He is currently preparing for a solo exhibition at Bare Hands Gallery in the spring. Suzy Moorer (BFA 2006 - Painting/Printmaking) recently completed the McNair Scholars Program, and has been accepted to work for Teach For America.

Current students are also attracting a lot of attention lately including Brian Thompson (MFA 2008) whose work was featured in the anniversary exhibition at the Meridian Museum of Art and the Annual Painting Competition hosted by the Energen Corporation in Birmingham. He also received an award for his contribution to the 2007 Red Clay Survey at the Huntsville Museum of Art. Susan Roberts (MFA 2007) has been selected to receive the highly competitive Graduate Council Fellowship from the university for 2006-2007. Currently, the work of both Susan and Brian is on view at Peninsula Fine Arts Center in Newport News, VA in the 2006 Biennial where they have both received awards from the jury for their work. Sarah Wiseman (MFA 2007) has been accepted to participate in a year-long residency program at Arrowmont. Heather Blackwell's (MA 2007) work has recently been selected for the 2007 Southeastern edition of New American Paintings.

Several current students and alumni were featured in the "Second Annual Birmingham Biennial" at Schedler-Minchin Fine Art in Homewood. Among others it will feature the work of Tom Wegrzynowski (MFA 2006) and Sarah Wiseman (MFA 2007). Sarah along with Youngsoon Chon (MA 2007) were included in an exhibition at Auburn University's Biggin Gallery entitled "Drawing on Alabama". Youngsoon will begin work on her MFA at The University of Iowa in the fall of 2007.

All alumni are encouraged to update the department of their recent notable exhibitions, awards and accolades. Last but not least Brian Bishop will be leaving The University of Alabama in August 2008 to take another faculty position in Boston, MA. You can reach him at brianlbishop@earthlink.net

Upcoming Opportunities
Recent Alumni and Current Students alike should look into applying for the following programs:

Whitney Independent Study Program, NYC
Artist Residencies
New American Painting Magazine