CVPA All-Star Series: Cameron Ritcher

By Jen Kulju (M'04)

Cameron Ritcher grew up in Harrisonburg, Virginia, nailing pieces of wood together for “no apparent reason.” Ritcher says he eventually realized that what he was doing was called art, and in high school, became more intentional about pursuing art as a career. He decided on JMU for college, and naturally gravitated toward painting and drawing due to the “immediacy that it provides.” “If I want blue somewhere, I can just dip my brush in blue, put it on the panel, and there it is.”

Ritcher graduated in May 2017 as a studio art major with a concentration in painting and drawing—and licensed to teach preK-12 art education. He made the “practical” decision to add an art education licensure, which paid off, both literally and figuratively. As a senior, Ritcher received the Dr. Jay D. Kain Scholarship in Art Education, and used funding from the scholarship toward tuition. In addition, he won the Senior Achievement Award in Painting and Drawing and twice earned a Juror’s Award at the JMU Undergraduate Juried Show. Ritcher says while 75 percent of his time at Madison was spent in the studio, he also found time for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, to ride his mountain bike, and to play the trumpet. Ritcher currently balances traveling to shows to exhibit his paintings with teaching art on a part-time basis at West Point Elementary near Richmond.

Photo of Cameron Ritcher next to one of three murals he created for the ISAT Building at JMU.

February 27, 2018