Louisa Benhissen
Associate Faculty
Art History

I am originally from London, U.K. and I moved to California in 2001, settling in Los Angeles and Orange County until I came north in 2009. I was an avid traveler as a teenager and explored three continents by the age of 19, seeking out the arts and culture of new places.

My path in higher education started in the U.K. with a B.T.E.C. diploma in Art from Camberwell College of Art, part of the London Institute of Arts. I then studied at Laguna College of Art and Design in Laguna Beach and Los Angeles for my B.F.A. and M.F.A. in Fine Art: Drawing and Painting. My studies in Art History began in high school, where I also took Latin, as well as Classics, and was fortunate to study A-level Art History under an Oxbridge don, whose knowledge in the rich artistic history of their homeland, Ireland, led me to my specialization in medieval, Hiberno-Saxon, illuminated manuscripts.

In my studio practice, I am a figurative realist painter trained in the techniques of the Old Masters and my work uses the tradition of representational realism to make a statement about modern society and generational change.

For Fall 2024
Online Classes

If you are enrolled in my AH 10: Appreciation/Introduction to the Visual Arts and/or AH 14: Modern Art course, you will be engaging with the class using Canvas (Cabrillo's online educational platform). This class is asynchronous, meaning that you will NOT be logging in at specific times to interact in real-time with me or your classmates via Zoom or other online conference tools. Instead, you will be participating in the class by engaging in course content and completing assignments which are organized in weekly modules. These include pre-recorded lectures and videos/documentaries, textbook and supplemental material, discussion boards and participation activities, as well as quizzes and written assignments.

Office hours

My office hours are on Zoom, every Tuesday and Thursday from 4:30pm - 5:30pm. A direct link can be found in the navigational toolbar of my course in Canvas, under "T-TH Office Hour". You can also email me either directly to my college email or within the Canvas course.

More information
A selection of my work can be found here...