Illustration Faculty biographies

David Groff, visual communications adjunct instructor, teaches illustration techniques and advanced illustration while maintaining a full schedule of freelance work. His clients have included Time-Life Music, Bantam Books, The Cartoon Network, Ralston Purina, Upjohn Corp., and many others. Mr. Groff’s paintings were featured in Fox Sports’ TV promotions for the 2002 World Series. His work has been published in Communication Arts, The Society of Illustrators, and Print magazines, and is held in private and corporate collections nationwide.

Mark Hazlerig, visual communications professor, teaches three-dimensional illustration, history of American illustration, and package design. Mr. Hazlerig is also the director of CCAD’s dimensional illustration and package design laboratory. He maintains an active freelance practice and is the owner of F/X Illustration. His clients include Patton Museum, A.D. Farrow Harley-Davidson Museum, Ohio Department of Mental Health and Retardation, the US Department of Defense, Battelle Memorial Institute, General Electric, Sears, and Wendy’s International. Mr. Hazlerig served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War and obtained the rank of Sergeant. He attended the University of Kentucky and earned BFA degrees, cum laude, in both advertising design and illustration from CCAD.

Walter King, visual communications professor, received a BFA in illustration from CCAD; an MFA in painting from Boston University; and also studied painting at Wichita State University. Mr. King worked his way through college as a graphic artist and illustrator in the 70s and 80s, and he has taught drawing, color, design, and illustration since 1985. Past commercial clients include Apple Computer, White Westinghouse, John Deere, and DC Heath Publishers. Mr. King designed and crafted the visual image and all print media (including package design for 12 laser discs) for Profiles in American Art, a 12-part PBS series. Mr. King’s paintings, drawings, prints, and illustrations have been exhibited throughout Ohio, Oklahoma, regionally, at the Society of Illustrators and the AIGA in New York, the IABC in San Francisco, as well as in Budapest, Hungary; Dresden, Germany; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Zagreb, Croatia; and Hiroshima, Japan. For more information: www.absolutearts.com/walterking.

Benton Mahan, visual communications associate professor, teaches illustration, decorative illustration, and portfolio. He has more than 25 years experience as an art director, designer, and illustrator for Hallmark Cards, Norcross Cards, Merrill Publishing, the A.D. Schiavone Advertising Agency in New York, and Industrial Design magazine. He has illustrated dozens of textbooks and children’s books. He worked closely with Jim Henson and illustrated several Muppet books and created artwork for the Sesame Street TV shows. He has won many awards for his work, including those from the Society of Illustrators Humor Show, the New York Creative Show, the New York One Show, CA Print, the American Institute of Graphic Arts, and the Society of Korean Illustration Art. In 1999, Mr. Mahan had two illustrations chosen for American Illustrated: A Show of Contemporary Illustration, a traveling exhibition sponsored by the Italian government. He is included in the books How to Get Started As a Freelance Illustrator, Humorous Illustration, and Who’s Who in American Art. Mr. Mahan has also taught design and illustration at the Fashion Institute of Technology. He has a BFA from CCAD.

Stewart McKissick, visual communications associate professor, teaches digital illustration and two-dimensional design. He is also a freelance illustrator. His clients have included The Battelle Memorial Institute, CompuServe, Disney Adventures Magazine, Field & Stream, F&W Publications, Golden Books, and Whittle Communications. His work has been included in exhibitions at the Museum of Cartoon Art, The Society of Illustrators, the Norman Rockwell Museum, and MacWorld and Seybold conferences, as well as in The Complete Book of Humorous Art. Mr. McKissick received a BFA in illustration from CCAD and an MFA in illustration from Syracuse University.

Evangelia Philippidis, visual communications adjunct instructor, has a powerful style of illustration inspired by her Greek heritage. Ms. Philippidis, a CCAD alumna, is a full-time designer/illustrator for The Columbus Dispatch — where she has created several award-winning illustrations. She also owns an illustration and design studio, Silver Moon Graphics. Her scratchboard technique is bold, reflects architectural influences, and displays the artist’s penchant for storytelling. Ms. Philippidis moved from Athens, Greece, to the United States when she was only 9 years old. Though she has made her home in Ohio, she has gone on several pilgrimages to her native land and in her own words, “came face to face with the true object of my art: the Greek icon.”

C.F. Payne, visual communication instructor, is the chair of the illustration department. Payne has a distinctive illustrative style, which has earned him the reputation as Norman Rockwell’s successor. The Cincinnati native has a prolific career largely working with U.S. magazines such as Time, Esquire, Rolling Stone, Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times Book Review, and Mad Magazine. In August 2003, he became a regular contributor to Reader's Digest, illsutrating their back covers. Mr. Payne has shown in many exhibitions and juried national shows. He has done murals, served on boards for illustrators’ organizations, and won numerous national awards. Mr. Payne also illustrated children’s books, including True Heart, written by Marissa Moss as well as Micawber and The Remarkable Farkle McBride written by television and movie star John Lithgow.

Ronald Tardino, visual communications professor, is a freelance illustrator and painter whose clients include Hills Corp., the Columbus Bar Association, and the Ohio Historical Museum and Ohio Village. He also has worked as a courtroom sketch artist. Mr. Tardino received a BFA in illustration from CCAD.