Mural completed by art students displayed in CSD lobby

A wall mural depicting a campus Cliff Walk scene stamped with a multicultural theme that four art students painstakingly devoted a year to completing now hangs in the lobby of the Center for Student Development.

The work was taken on last spring as a special project in Gerald Perrino’s art class. Rachel DeLuca, Jordan Thuman, Hope Foster and Serena Lafond, all junior art majors, also worked with Khalil Habib, director of the Pell Honors Program, to cross-list the project as a Pell Honors elective with the intention of donating the work to the University when completed.

The 60-by-96-inch canvas mural, completed in two panels, illustrates the natural beauty of the Cliff Walk with views overlooking the ocean and beaches. Several Salve Regina students can be seen enjoying each others’ company, sitting under a large tree and walking along the famous path. The Newport (Pell) Bridge can be seen in the distance.

“We wanted to incorporate the Cliff Walk because it’s such an integral part of the Salve community,” Lafond said. “And we wanted to incorporate the people that actually attend Salve or once attended Salve. They posed for us … a few them are us.”

The students started by drawing thumbnail sketches representing their vision. “We had a lot of different ideas … some worked and some didn’t,” Thuman said.

Once they settled on the theme, the work was divided based on their individual talents and interests. “Jordan did all the faces, I did upper background, Rachel did clothing and Serena did … miscellaneous,” Foster said.

“This is a rare group of very strong painting students who are reliable and also work well together,” said Perrino, associate professor of art. “It was also a large enough group to distribute the heavy workload that was warranted by such a project.”

Perrino said the students did everything themselves, from research and design to building the canvas stretchers and executing the painting itself. “When the term was over, they felt the project still needed work so they got together for a week over the summer in the hope of polishing it off. I was able to offer summer input via the Internet.”

The students continued to work on parts of the mural over the fall term. “It is clear that they are persistent and perfectionists, both important traits for professional artists,” Perrino said. “I expect big things from all these students, both next year and beyond.”