Alumni Highlights Art Department

Celebrate Westmont's Art Alumni

This group has left a lasting impact on the creative landscape. Whether excelling in graphic design, showcasing artwork globally, or shaping the art world through curation, graduates from the Art program exemplify the versatility and influence of a Westmont art education. These accomplishments reflect the program's commitment to nurturing talent, fostering critical thinking, and instilling a lifelong passion for the arts.

Benjamin Rollins Caldwell '05

Ben has become one of the most acclaimed designers working in avant-garde furniture today. His work has been profiled in such publications as Town, Dwell, and The Robb Report, among others. His “Binary Chair” was prominently featured in the marketing materials for Lady Gaga’s ArtPop album tour.

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Robin Eley '01

Upon graduating, Robin returned to his native Adelaide, Australia, where he founded a successful multimedia/concept design firm. But a desire to paint led him to study at the Illustration Academy, where he learned the skills to become a successful and highly in-demand illustrator. He then morphed his career a third time when he decided to pursue a gallery career, with numerous sold-out exhibitions now among his accomplishments. Robin has been a finalist in numerous Australian art prizes, most notably Runner Up (2010) and Highly Commended (2011) in the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize, the world’s richest prize for portraiture. In 2014 he received the judges award for curated artists at the Fort Wayne Realism Biennial. In addition, he has also been a finalist in the Archibald Prize (2012), the Eutick Memorial Still Life Art Prize (2010, 2012) and the Nora Heysen Still Life Art Award (2011). Recognized as a premier contemporary hyperrealist painter, Robin currently paints custom commissioned works for a variety of clients and collectors.

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Betsy Freeman '16

Since graduating from Westmont, Betsy has worked as a graphic designer and product designer in San Francisco. Betsy wrote and illustrated her first cookbook, The One & Done Cookbook, with Stone Pier Press in October 2022, dedicated to making cooking easier; in short, illustrated recipes and tips from one busy creative to another. Betsy comments that her years at Westmont not only “gave me strong problem solving skills that helped me see beyond the perceived confines of my title to achieve much bigger goals for my company, and therefore to excel quickly into leadership roles," but also “helped me develop a sense that success is much more than my salary or status, which gives me confidence to freely pursue the opportunities God has put before me, free of fear or self-doubt.”

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Rachelle Fields

Rachelle Fields currently works as a Senior CMF (Colors, Materials, Finishes) Designer at Lifetime Brands Inc., Her work involves deciding or creating which artwork gets used for various products, creating mood boards and choosing the color palettes, determining the type of finish it receives, conducting trend research, and creating the factory ready production files. She is the visual manager of the Planetbox brand, a kid’s sustainable lunchbox line. Rachelle previously served as a surface pattern designer in-house for Tommy Bahamas, creating designs for their signature menswear shirt line, and her illustrations and textile designs have been used for product lines for Starbucks EMEA (Europe, Middle East and North Africa) and Starbucks Asia.

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Kristen Gaylord, PhD ‘09

After completing BAs in English and Art History at Westmont, Kristen continued her art history studies at New York University, completing an MA, and MPhil and finally a PhD in 2021. Working under Thomas Crow, one of the foremost historians of 20th century art, she wrote her dissertation on the pop artist, Sister Corita Kent. While at NYU, a series of positions in the photography department at MoMA led her to her current curatorial position at the Milwaukee Museum of Art.

MMA Press Release

Joel Daniel Phillips '11

Since graduating Westmont, Joel Phillips has actively exhibited his work across the United States and abroad. His drawings and paintings have been shown at institutions including the National Portrait Gallery, Philbrook Museum of Art, Tacoma Art Museum, Art Museum of South Texas, Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Gilcrease Museum, Ackland Art Museum and many others. His work has been selected for the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery for the past three concurrent exhibitions (2016, 2019 and 2022), at which he received 3rd prize in 2016 and Honorable Mention in 2022. He is currently a Fellow at the Tulsa Artist Fellowship in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

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Alexis Ireland ‘14

Alexis Ireland Florals is a boutique floral design company based in Santa Barbara, California. Alexis combines her fine arts background and a love for the natural world with a decade of experience in the events industry to create truly one of a kind designs. Her work is informed by both the relaxed sophistication of Southern California and the natural tones and textures of the coastlands. She specializes in custom, organic-style arrangements, with flowers sourced from local growers and markets whenever available.

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Bethany Picone '09

Bethany Picone is a portrait photographer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She specializes in documentary wedding photography with an editorial flair. Prior to that, she taught middle school and high school art at Oaks Christian School and was a display artist at Anthropologie.

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Briana Miyoko Stanley ‘15

Briana is a visual artist and college professor who specializes in suspended drawing installations. Her art practice is rooted in the study of ecology and natural disasters. Stanley earned her M.F.A. in Drawing & Painting from California State University, Long Beach. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Art at Palomar College.

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Casey Underwood ‘13

Casey Underwood is an artist and outdoorsman in Bozeman, Montana. Casey took his artwork full time in 2015 and has since become one of the more recognizable artists in the outdoor space. As a prolific illustrator, he has amassed a collection of work consisting of over 100 fish and wildlife species. Commercially, his freelance designs are frequently contracted by some of the outdoor industries leading brands. Clean edges, layers of color and crosshatched lines are a few characteristics that define Casey's signature style. When he's not in his studio creating new work, he's likely out fishing, hunting or skiing with his wife and dog.

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Taylor Rose Christenson '14

Taylor began working professionally as a graphic designer immediately after graduating from Westmont, and worked in-house for various companies for 9 years before launching her own company, Taylor Rose Design Co., with an emphasis on creating authentic brand identities for passionate business owners. Taylor uses her drawing, painting, and graphic designs skills in tandem to create unique designs for her clients.

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Katie King Rumford ‘06

After receiving her BA in Studio Art from Westmont, Katie went on to complete her MFA in Graphic Design at the Academy of Art University. Working at first as a creative director for Selman Design in New York City, Katie has gone on to establish her own business as a freelance art director, working for such clients as Google and Facebook. Her work has been featured in the New York Times and been recognized by Communication Arts magazine.

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Diana Fitzgibbon ’11

Graduating with degrees in English Literature and Art History, Diana Fitzgibbon is a writer, curator and creative consultant currently serving as the Director of Media & Communications for Jim Dine Studio. She has over 15+ years of experience managing galleries, curating, and directing arts related events and initiatives, and is an expert in marketing, publicity and event coordination. In addition to her work in the arts, she is a senior level copywriter and editor, managing projects for commercial clients and retailers nationwide.

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