Steven Tool

The Patricia Tool McHugh Art Scholarship was established by Patricia Tool McHugh, who was an artist and instructor in SCC’s art department for many years. She passed away in November 2022 at age 95.

Her obituary described her artistic life as follows:
Patricia was a talented and versatile artist from an early age, demonstrating gifts across many media—-although her avocation was watercolor, at which she excelled. A year spent studying at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence, Italy, boosted her confidence as an artist, her very first show, one of many throughout her career, was in a Florentine restaurant. Her marriage to writer and translator Vincent McHugh was instrumental in nurturing her interest in the arts of Asia. With an insatiable desire to learn about and experience the art world, she enjoyed worldwide sojourns her whole life long; all itineraries included art museums, exhibitions, workshops, or classes. She painted everywhere she traveled. Her many colorful canvases brought to life the busy café terraces of southern France, the open-air markets of Lisbon, the sheltered bays of California, and the serene and dramatic landscapes of New Zealand. The majority of her career was spent as an art instructor in drawing, color and design, printmaking, and art history at Sacramento City College from 1961 until her retirement in 1987. Teaching, designing, studying, workshops, exhibits, collaborative shows, printmaking, painting, galleries, museums, and art history were all on her palette of art appreciation and participation.

After Patricia’s passing, the contact for the scholarship became Patricia’s nephew, Stephen Tool.