Thesis (M.F.A.)--University of Central Florida, 2008. / Adviser: Carla Poindexter. Includes bibliographical references (p. 24).

Linking his thematic inspiration (the strange, the bizarre, the weird and the odd) to his artistic reflection, Lopez conceives of his work as based on his fascination with human facial expressions. "It is there where it is born", he says. Like Leonardo, he believes that the eye is the superior organ. Lopez's use of form and color represents his main objective: to show emotion, humanity and elegance. For that, it is necessary for him to reveal character as well as beauty. It is again, the approach used by the great masters such as Leonardo, Velazquez, Gericault and Goya in representing integrity inside the strange, the bizarre, the weird and the odd. Lopez's art invites the viewer to stare at it, to establish a cordial exchange and to venture into the fascinating world of the unusual.

Out of the Shadows: The Mezzotints of Graeme Peebles investigates Victorian printmaker Graeme Peebles' engagement with the mezzotint medium since the early 1970s. Over fifty works from the artist's oeuvre of nearly 300 mezzotints are examined to demonstrate Peebles' high quality technical skills and his unique approach to subject matter. This has ranged from enigmatic, surrealist-inspired subject matter to landscapes of the Lake Eucumbene region in the Kosciusko National Park, which range from the ominous and foreboding to the romantic and sublime. In this thesis I explore the intellectual groundwork on which much of Peebles work is based. In doing so I am redressing the imbalance between the popularity of Peebles' work and the lack of critical writing about his art. While his work has been widely collected (see for instance the list of Public Collections that contain holdings of Peebles' work, on page 96), to date his work has not received the attention as deserved by a master of their chosen medium. In reviewing his work in such a manner I believe that Peebles deserves greater recognition in contemporary Australian Art. In conjunction with this thesis I have curated an exhibition bearing the same title, which was displayed at the QUT Art Museum, Brisbane, 12 March - 30 May 2004. It then toured to the Latrobe Regional Gallery, Warrnambool Art Gallery, Geelong Gallery, Gold Coast City Art Gallery and Perc Tucker Regional Gallery. A 16-page colour catalogue was also produced to accompany the exhibition.