Students in Assistant Art and Art History Professor Steven Pearson's Spring '05 "Color" class explored campus, matching colors to objects at different times of the day. The students were able to see how light changes the way people perceive color.

Students Brian Belida '06, Elizabeth Cosby '06, Kenny Ditto '06, Jessica Lepson '06, and Jennifer Perry '05 created color chips from the exercise that Pearson worked into paintings on display Oct. 11 through Nov. 11 at the Rice Gallery in McDaniel's Peterson Hall.

Opening reception for the Department of Art and Art History's “Elements and Principles, Memories and Meanings: New paintings by Steven Pearson” will be held 7 - 11 p.m. Oct. 11.

The exhibit will also include paintings from students Elizabeth Cosby '06 and Alexandra Gargon '07.

For exhibit information and gallery hours, call 410-857-2595.

Pearson said he enjoyed taking the cue from his students' color palette.

"This takes the decision of what colors to use almost completely out of my hands," Pearson said. "It forces me to think about color relationships, color contrasts and harmonies, and color associations to get the colors handed to me by the students to fit the conceptual ideas I may be exploring in each painting."

It resulted in paintings swirling with colors, shapes, and designs.

"These paintings reflect our ability to receive and assimilate a myriad of information on a daily basis … With these paintings I'm not trying to decipher our chaotic world in some vain attempt to create order where order may seem impossible, I'm simply trying to make sense of my own unique role within it," Pearson said.

This series and research was made possible with a Faculty Development Grant from McDaniel College and an artist's residency at the Ragdale Foundation in Lake Forest, Ill.