The Beth Damphousse Art & Design Gallery showcases the creative endeavors and artistic output of current School of Art & Design students at TXST by displaying the students’ artwork at the President’s residence where it will be enjoyed by hundreds of distinguished guests.
2025 Featured Artists
Blanca Luna Nunez
Blanca Luna Nunez is a senior Studio Art major and an art teacher candidate currently completing her internship in art education. As a first-generation Mexican American and the first in her family to graduate college, Blanca has always turned to art as a way to express her identity and values. She fell in love with Texas State University for its diversity and strong art program, which has helped shape her artistic voice and passion for teaching.
“This artwork centers on themes of family, time, memory, and my relationship with my culture and heritage as a Mexican American. The reference photo was taken in Zacatecas, Mexico, and shows an artisan shop that makes traditional Mexican saddles, known for their detailed and ornate leatherwork. This painting is a heartfelt blend of my memories of Mexico and my deep love and appreciation for my parents.”
Blanca Luna Nunez
Saddle Works
2025
Oil on canvas
32 x 32 x 2 inches
Grace Nielsen
Grace Nielsen is a senior at Texas State University, studying Communication Design. While her focus lies mainly in graphic design, her roots are grounded in a lifelong love of painting and hands-on creation of artwork. Many of her works explore themes of place and perception, drawing from the landscapes and traditions of Texas and her experiences traveling, expressed through a hyperrealist style.
"My vision for this piece was to create a still-life using objects that are representative of Southern culture, as I was raised in Texas and love the overall environment and spirit of it. Although I’ve experimented with some other art styles, I always seem to go back to hyper-realism. I like to depict things as they really are and to really hone in on the details. I’ve learned that the smallest changes or additions can make a huge difference."
Grace Nielsen
The Things We Carry
2023
Acrylic on canvas
24 x 18 x ½ inches
2024 Featured Artist
Sofia Rodriguez
Sofia is a senior at Texas State University, majoring in communication design. While her academic focus lies in communication design, Sofia also has a passion for working with oil paint. According to the artist, her paintings reflect her memories and capture the warmth and magic of nature. An avid lover of the outdoors, she often spends time with family and friends, and these experiences deeply influence her paintings.
“The people around me inspire me as an artist, as well as the environment around me. Nature plays a big role in a lot of what I paint, in tandem with personal memories and the relationships I have with the people that are close to me. I always want to evoke emotion in the viewer through my work and remind them to take a second and just appreciate your surroundings and the people you love.”
September Day
Oil on Canvas, 2024
30 x 24 inches
Stitching
Oil on Canvas, 2024
30 x 24 inches
2023 Featured Artist
Karlina Higdon
Karlina Higdon is a senior studio art major in the School of Art & Design at Texas State University, with a concentration in painting.
“I began oil painting because I love how many techniques and methods that I get to explore to create authentic representations of truth, goodness, and beauty.”
Home
Oil on canvas, 2023
Hyde Park's Bravest
Oil on canvas, 2023
2022 Featured Artist
Jacob M. Garza Jr.
Exploring nature, memory, and identity, Jacob uses personal experiences and oral stories passed down from family members to create a narrative within his work. The process involves layering transparent colors and images on top of one another, pulling and pushing the paint as it flows, and letting the image emerge from the canvas.
Jacob's style and subject matter are focused on Mexican culture and inspired by the Mexican Muralists, and embody the notion of a connectedness between the physical and the spiritual. The delicate use of the paint applied to the surface is influenced by Chinese and Japanese watercolor/ink paintings.
"Using elements of line, color, and space, I create a sense of rhythm or motion that directs the viewer's eyes throughout the piece, enveloping their field of vision in atmospheric scenes that bring the viewer into a different world."
Jaripeos
Oil on Canvas, 2022
"Jaripeos is a slow visceral image of jaripeos from my mom’s village in Zaragoza, Mexico. Shades of red, pink, and violet evoke the passionate and intimate activities one plays and sees at these events. Like a slow dance, the texture of the paint guides and pulls your eyes throughout the canvas."
Aguas de las Memorias
Oil on Canvas, 2022
“Aguas de las Memorias represents the symbolic nature of rivers as an ever-flowing stream of consciousness. I can feel my ancestors and the spirits through the water, cleansing and bathing in a river of collected wisdom.”
Sueño en la Noche
Oil on Canvas, 2022
"Sueño en la Noche represents a dream I had one night. My soul was longing for my feet to return to my mother’s homeland. To reconnect with my roots, see the surrounding landscape as it dipped, dived, and curved itself in the horizon. I used the tetradic color scheme to emphasize the two worlds merging into this dreamlike night scene."
About the Beth Damphousse Art & Design Award
The Beth Damphousse Art & Design Award celebrates the achievement of a current Art & Design student at Texas State University. Established in 2022, this award celebrates 1–2 students with a $250 scholarship and the display of the students’ artwork at the President’s residence where hundreds of distinguished guests will enjoy it throughout the upcoming academic year. A reception in the student’s honor is hosted by the University President and First Lady.
Submissions for the 2026 featured artist(s) will open at a later date.