Alumni to Watch

Craig Cheply

Check out the special-effect painting of Craig Cheply (BFA, Interior Design, '80) in Three Kings, starring George Clooney, and Buffalo Soldiers, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Ed Harris. Cheply’s work is also seen in The Kingdom starring Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Garner, which was released on DVD in January 2008.

If you live in the Valley, you've undoubtedly seen Cheply's work. Whether enjoying a baseball game or taking your kids to see the dinosaurs, Cheply's artistic works make for an exciting atmosphere. He was one of six artists chosen to by Evergreen Painting Studios NY to paint 10,000 square feet of murals at Chase Field (formerly "the BOB"). Eight of his murals provide stunning backdrops to the exhibits at the Mesa Southwest Museum.

Cheply's paintings have been exhibited in galleries and public spaces throughout the Valley, including the largest solo museum show in Arizona. His work was recently selected by Robert Rosenblum of the Guggenheim Museum in New York to appear in the Viridian Artists 17th National Juried Exhibition in July of 2006.

Cheply Art

Lifelines. Battlelines., acrylic on canvas, 36" x 24", $2,400. One of three pieces chosen by Rosenblum.