'Art has always been a part of my life. I really don't know what else I would do because this just feels so right.'

Blinn arts major Abigail Quinn is a recipient of the prestigious National Plein Air Convention Scholarship

May 5, 2025

For as long as she can remember, 19-year-old Abigail Quinn has been immersed in art.

“My dad is an artist. Not by profession, but he did a lot of pencil drawings with realistic, southern themes, so I think I got it from him,” Quinn said.

Quinn recently was named a recipient of the prestigious National Plein Air Convention Scholarship awarded by College Station’s Benjamin Knox Gallery. As part of this honor, her work is on display in the gallery’s Young Artists of Aggieland exhibition and she will attend the summer 2025 Plein Air Convention in Lake Tahoe, Nev., where she will work with other artists and leading experts in the field.

“Being a part of the Young Artists of Aggieland exhibit and receiving the Plein Air Convention Scholarship is such an honor,” said Quinn. “People are what inspires me and most of my work. I just have that feeling that I can’t imagine doing anything else. If there’s going to be anything I’m going to put my energy towards, it’s going to be this.”

A College Station native, Quinn first connected with the Blinn College District while taking dual credit classes that allowed her to earn high school and college credit simultaneously. When she chose to pursue an arts degree, beginning with an associate’s degree at Blinn seemed like a natural fit.

“I’ve always appreciated Blinn. It’s built to help you succeed. You have more of that one-on-one connection with the professor, which I don’t think is possible at a bigger university,” said Quinn. “Most of the professors here are very passionate about their jobs and want to help their students. Like Jamie Speck, my painting instructor, she’s an artist in her own right who’s had many exhibitions.”

Quinn also appreciates the diverse mix of students she has met through the program, and she encourages anyone interested in being creative to consider a class.

“We have all different kinds of majors in our classes, and I love that,” she said. “There’s a girl who studies chemistry and a guy who was in the Army and went back to school. Even though they may not be arts majors, they have such talent. That’s really inspiring to see.”

Blinn’s Arts Program allows students to complete their Core Curriculum while exploring their creative interests in one or more visual arts media. Students can specialize in traditional arts like ceramics, metals, drawing, and painting or the digital arts, which include photography and graphic design.

With studios on both the Brenham and Bryan campuses, Blinn’s program offers a nurturing environment where students have access to state-of-the-art computers for digital work and traditional creative space for hands-on projects. The program prepares students for careers in fields like design, art education, multimedia art or to transfer to bachelor’s degree programs at the state’s leading universities.

Quinn plans to transfer to Texas A&M University and pursue a Bachelor of Science in Visualization.

“I’m a storyteller as well as an artist, so it would be a dream to combine those two interests in my career,” she said. “I’m interested in art direction, mostly within animation and films. Whatever path I take, I’m so grateful to do what I love.”

For more information about Blinn’s Arts Program, visit www.blinn.edu/arts.