The University’s Painters’ League is leaning into the bohemian artist stereotype and shrugging off the typical student organization structure for a more inclusive and free-form arrangement.
“I’ve been advertising it as a group of artists that like to hang out, and we get to call it a club,” said president Suzannah Burke, a studio art senior. “There [are] no dues or fees. We don’t want to make it something that’s a struggle for anyone.”
While the group isn’t entirely lax — artists appearing in the group’s annual student art sale are required to work shifts — the focus is less on structure and more on creating a supportive community for art lovers to focus on personal development, Burke said.
The club is comprised of both studio art majors and non-majors, ranging from related fields such as graphic design and ceramics to mathematics and psychology. Having diverse perspectives in the club brings a fresh energy to discussions of art and students’ creations, social media director and graphic design senior Jeffrey Colegrove said.
Non-art majors are often the most shy about their passion, but majoring in a field doesn’t necessarily denote ability, Burke said. Art careers are often romanticized, but they’re a profession like anything else, Colegrove said.
Like people in most professions, artists become bogged down in the quest to produce successful work. The Painters’ League brings fun back into the equation, Burke said.
Members of the group participate in a show on the atrium wall in the Design Building, an annual or semi-annual student art sale and trips to local museums and galleries in New Orleans and Baton Rouge.
The organization also holds group painting critiques and is considering expanding into group painting sessions. The events create a sense of morale and group camaraderie, Colegrove said.
That morale provides a comforting space where student artists can paint without feeling pressured to create a marketable or successful product, and hobby enthusiasts can break through the intimidation that sometimes makes the art world feel exclusive, Burke said.
Potential art lovers are sometimes alienated by the pretentious aura artists can project, she said. The Painters’ League aims to break that stereotype.
“[When you enter a gallery] there’s an intimidation to know artists and art history. You really don’t have to. You don’t have to go into a gallery and know everything,” Colegrove said.
Observing as much art as possible, soaking in the ambiance and finding creative inspiration is more important than being an expert art historian or having a “feeling” when you view artworks, he said. The league fosters students’ self-confidence so they can embrace art no matter their skill level or background, Burke said.

Gallery • 3 Photos

Aurianna Cordero

Paint brushes sit in Foster Hall on Monday, Sept. 2, 2017.