Faculty
Our faculty has been carefully selected to represent the Academy’s new vision – one that combines the legacy they inherit, and that looks forward to the future of figurative and representational art. Individually, these artists and scholars are at the top of their respective fields; together, they are the core of the Academy and its mission.
EDMOND ROCHAT
DIRECTOR OF CONTINUING EDUCATION AND PRINCIPAL ANATOMY INSTRUCTOR
While studying painting, drawing, and sculpture at the duCret School of Art, New Jersey, the Art Students League of New York, and the Janus Collaborative School of Art, New York, Edmond supplemented his studies by working as a lab assistant for a course in advanced artistic anatomy. A grant from the John F. and Anna Lee Stacey Scholarship Fund allowed Edmond to study Greek and Renaissance sculpture at the Slater Memorial Museum in Norwich, Connecticut, and his portraiture, shaped by these interests, has been recognized with the Dr. Furman Fink Award. Edmond’s teaching appointments include the New York Academy of Art and the Art Students League, also in New York. His works have appeared in Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine and in books on drawing and seeing. Currently, Edmond is the Director of Continuing Education and the Principal Anatomy Instructor at the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts where also maintains his studio.
RICK LACEY
DIRECTOR OF YOUTH PROGRAMS AND PRINCIPAL CONTINUING EDUCATION INSTRUCTOR
Originally from Evergreen, Colorado, Rick has spent most of his life in Lyme, Connecticut. He graduated from the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts in 2011, with a BFA in painting. He is a recipient of the American Visions Award, as well as the John Stobart Fellowship Award. Rick has been featured in several national magazines, including both American Artist and Art of the West. Rick currently works at the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts, in Old Lyme, Connecticut, teaching highly popular classes in drawing and painting.
Mina Mohtasham
PRINCIPAL CONTINUING EDUCATION INSTRUCTOR AND CORE TEACHING ASSISTANT
Mina Mohtasham received a BFA in painting from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 2021, where she studied with artists such as Peter Van Dyck, Scott Noel, Gary Weisman, and Stuart Shils. During her studies, she received numerous awards and honors, including the Raymond D. Estelle Rubens Travel Scholarship, the Susan Mcdowell Eakins Figure Painting Prize, the Stimson Figure Sculpting Competition, and first place recognition for her cast drawings. In 2021, Mina was awarded an Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant. Currently, Mina is attending the Core Program at the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts, in order to develop her skills in observational drawing and painting, and to further her goal to depict the world in a naturalistic and poetic way.
Thomas LaPine
PRINCIPAL CONTINUING EDUCATION INSTRUCTOR AND CORE TEACHING ASSISTANT
Thomas LaPine uses drawing and painting to actively participate and engage with the world. As a student of academic principles, he strives to expand these traditions in a way that celebrates both historical and modern viewpoints. Focusing on direct representation and specializing in the human figure, Thomas seeks a balance between the visual impression reflected in 19th-century academic drawings and the tactile experience inspired by the Dutch masters. Through extensive study and travel around the world, he has acquired an astute perspective on the fine arts and its relevance to contemporary culture. Thomas currently lives in Connecticut, where he studies and works at the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts.
PAUL MICHAEL
PRINCIPAL PRINTMAKING INSTRUCTOR
Shawn Paul Michael is a Connecticut-based artist who employs printmaking in order to consider themes of isolation and connection in everyday life. He received a BFA from the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, where he was a recipient of the Chandler Scholarship, and completed his MFA and Graduate Certificate in Arts Leadership and Cultural Management at the University of Connecticut. Michael’s recent exhibitions include: Video Lounge at URSA Gallery, Bridgeport, CT; Heads/Tails at Atlantic Gallery, NY; Froth at Jill Krutick Fine Art, Mamanoreck, NY; The 13th Biennial Mini Print Exhibition at the Center for Contemporary Printmaking, Norwalk, CT; Fan Culture at the CICA Museum, South Korea; and Sour Milk at the William Benton Museum of Art, CT.