Dot Courson Fine Art Blog

Here is a test: (*answer at the bottom of this post) What does this Really mean?  I recently had some requests for my "artists statement". Oh nooooooo!!!! "Please not my artists statement ", I whine to myself... But okay. It's okay because I have one...well,  I actually have several because they keep changing. I always cringe when someone requests it and I go back into it and change it up and save yet another version. Why?  Because it doesn't ring right for me every time I read it. So I re-write it. And then it works that day. My latest version is a straight forward explanation of my painting process . Nothing mysterious. And I don't sound clever... I am not a very good writer. That's why I am a painter!  I want to beg the person requesting my artist statement to just look at my work.. THAT is the statement I wanted to make that day I painted a particular painting. Today it may be different.  I used really simple names for my paintings...

Guess what I heard today?..... "Congratulations!  Your work has been juried into the American Women Artists 2010 National Juried Competition in Dallas, Texas. The jurors...had a very difficult task to select the pieces that make up this exceptional exhibition.  Of over 1547 entries ... the jury selected 65 works to be displayed from October 9 – November 9, 2010 at Southwest Gallery.  Since your work was accepted into the exhibition, we hope that you will plan to attend and participate in the activities October 8 in Dallas which include an Awards Brunch at 9am and Artist Reception from 1-5pm on October 9 th ." Scotch Whisky with Dupre © Dot Courson Am so thrilled! - Dot If you are new to my work...I hope you will check out  my WEBSITE.

Backyard  Apple Orchard 24x30 ©2010 Dot Courson Sometimes painting is just from the love of the subject...  I remember our apple orchards from my childhood very fondly, and so I practically begged Jackie to plant some trees at the end of our little garden. Deer ate a few, but some survived. For the pat two days I've been painting in plein air in my backyard. (Note: In front of the image of the painting above ...are two apples sitting on the kitchen counter where I photographed my painting.) My granddaughter Faith and I pulled apples from the trees after I painted the first day - right after John Morgan, my grandson was "driving" the golf cart with his dad and he hit the already leaning apple tree.  It's leaning more now! Oh well! ...Memories of the apple trees continue down the generations... I just may keep this painting for myself so that I can remember a beautiful happy day-  the end of the summer of 2010.

Dot Courson Wednesday I had the distinct pleasure and awesome responsibility to be asked to jury the annual Middleton Art League's   Fur, Fin and Feather Art Exhibition   in Tennessee. The works in this show was in several categories: Professional, Senior, Amateur, and League Members.   Doing this type thing is a great responsibility and after accepting the invitation I  immediately began to think about shows and exhibits that I had entered and researching and developing criteria that I would use in making my decisions for the show. I was prepared - so it should have been a piece of cake...    But it was a   very difficult   job..........   I had decided that the winning entries would need to offer that "something extra": a higher quality in overall appeal, composition, design / use of space, visual rhythm and general mastery of the medium. But in the end I learned that though the technical proficiency   was   important -...