Campbellsville University senior, Austin Merritt, displaying artwork

CAMPBELLSVILLE, KY (03/06/2017) (readMedia)-- Austin Merritt, a Campbellsville University senior, will be displaying his senior portfolio in The Pence-Chowning Art Gallery through March 10 at 205 University Drive, Campbellsville, Ky.

Merritt, from Campbellsville, will be exhibiting drawing, painting, photography, sculpture and ceramics in his show.

Merritt will be graduating from Campbellsville University in May 2017 with aBachelor's in Fine Arts with an emphasis in Graphic Design.

Merritt participated in several exhibits before including a solo exhibit at Saint Thomas Episcopal Church. He has also shown work at Campbellsville University's Annual Juried Student Shows in 2016, where he won first place in photography; in 2014 where he won third place in sculpture; and in 2015.

Merritt said growing up he felt that art was never more than a hobby for him. "It was merely drawing chracters from my favorite games or doodling on the sides of notebook pages," he said.

"I took interest in science fields throughout high school which I believe greatly influenced my work to this day."

Merritt believed he would never graduate with a degree in art; he believed he would study science in college. Merritt feels that his love for aviation and science allows him to create various landscapes from his own imagination.

Merritt said his primary goal is to manifest his imagination, and that fantasy style artwork, using primary artists such as Kenneth Rocafort, Yoji Shinkawa and Yoshitaka Amano, have been primary influences on him.

"I wanted to work in the aerospace industry," Merritt said. "However, as fate would have it my art elective convinced me that was for me. It was from that moment I began my studies in the field of art and design."

Merritt also believes that the faculty of Campbellsville University have been very influential and have helped him develop his own style as an artist.

Merritt's senior exhibit will be a culmination of works created during his time at the university and hopes the enjoyment he had creating it can be transferred to you – the viewer.

The gallery is open during the following hours: Mondays, 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. and noon until 5:50 p.m.; Tuesdays, 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. and noon until 4 p.m.; Wednesdays, 9 a.m. until 5:30 p.m.; Thursdays, 9 a.m. until 10 a.m. and noon until 5:30 p.m. and Fridays, 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.

For more information on the Art and Design Department at Campbellsville University, contact Linda J. Cundiff, chair and professor of art, at (270) 789-5268 or ljcundiff@campbellsville.edu.

Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with more than 4,500 students offering over 80 programs of study including 19 master's degrees, six postgraduate areas and seven pre-professional programs. The university has off-campus centers in Louisville, Harrodsburg, Somerset and Hodgenville with instructional sites in Elizabethtown, Owensboro and Summersville and a full complement of online programs. The website for complete information is campbellsville.edu.