Dot Courson Fine Art Blog

I have two art blogs...   It was not planned...  Grab a glass of sweet tea and pull up a chair. Here is how it happened: First I had a website is with FASO and it's at www.dotcourson.com . For many years there was not a blog associated with it. Then FASO administrators added a place for BLOGS- so I made that my main website. It is at  www.dotcourson.com/blog. Here's the latest blog post there: Having my new blog with my main website very convenient-  but it's leaving behind YEARS of blogs that I've done here on blogspot!  You are currently on my blogspot site with lots of older blogs (Notice the archived files from past years on the right.) Actually I manage a 3rd blog! It's about  Plein Air Painters of Mississippi  that I started several years ago to post Mississippi events because there are lots of Plein Air events in our state and no central place to post them. The limiting factor to blogging anywhere quit...

Yesterday I spoke with a group in one of my hometowns - not where I was born, but where I spent my formative years- age 10 until my late 20s. It felt good to be there. People were nice. I had been invited to speak to the Burce Rotary Club by Barbara, a childhood friend who I hadn't seen  in probably 30 years or so. She'd contacted me after she had seen where I'd commented on her cousin Judy's Facebook page about Judy's mother's passing...about how I remembered Judy's kind sweet mother -and especially her delicious biscuits she served for breakfast when I came as a kid for sleepovers there as in her home. That biscuit comment about her aunt's cooking must have really hit home for it to get me a speaking gig! But seriously, the day Barbara invited me she said she saw my website and said that she loves to see Calhoun County women who are successful. Well, I didn't say anything back to that comment but agreed to come speak. I was reminded of a favor...

I recently taught a workshop on landscapes and wanted to share a few slides with you...   I LOVE teaching! I taught here in Pontotoc in January.The group was great and we had fun. Thank you to all the attendees.  Jackie helped me welcome 14 artists form TN, AL and MS. My next workshop is in Greenville in May with the Delta Art Association. Hope you get to come! Here is a link to details. Here are a few tips straight out of my workshop handbook that I use when I teach. I love to share, but all images are my paintings, and therefore are copyrighted ©2013  Dot Courson Workshops. So feel free to use and share these- I encourage it as a matter of fact! -  but I require you attribute the painting and slide images and painting to me please. : ) Value planes. ©2013 Dot Courson Arial perspective. ©2013 Dot Courson Movement in painting. ©2013Dot Courson Please leave comments below. I love hearing from you!  Happy Painting! ...

Amish Paintings:  This is an Amish child in Pontotoc county Mississippi, learning to drive a team of horses. I named it "Allied Education." as the Amish are home schooled until the 8 th grade, I hear, because they learn only to do their life's work.I read a court case in TN that stated that once. Around here the Amish have several saw mills. Also they sell fresh vegetables and homemade jams, etc. All done on wood stoves in the blazing hot summers. They are sweet folks!  I have prints of this (Amish Driver) for sale... 8x16's for $ $50 each unframed. Contact me if interested. A few weeks ago I had friends from out of town here and took them to see our Amish country...It's really interesting to see this place! Here are just a few of some oil paintings of the Amish that I have done: 12x16 Available- $ 350 Unframed.  Sold Sold Sold Amish Road (Study) ©Dot Courson   AVAILABLE   - Oil - $300   ...

Sitting here planning paintings... and doing a few months of teaching lesson plans for a class that I teach on Mondays. Thinking to myself: "Well, I've done it again. I am booked pretty much solid through the spring!" Thought I'd post some- and I do hope to see some of you at one or more of these events. Events  (between now and the end of spring) Anderson Hall - NEMCC - Booneville. Exhigiton with Mississippi Painter's Society This exhibit opens Jan. 25 and runs till Feb. 21st, 2012.  A solo show at Caron|Prince Gallery: Small Places: Landscapes of the South March 1st - opening Reception from 5-7 PM. Save the date! Jackie and I are hosting an Anne Blair Brown Plein Air Workshop here in Pontotoc on April 19-21 : In the Women Painters of the Southeast show at Corse Gallery & Atlier in Jacksonville, Fl where I'm proud to say that I'm a signature member! Also teaching  3 day workshop for the Greenville  Delta Art Association...

What can be more fun than painting? Especially in the fall! This is a photo from the side back of our yard looking back toward the house. Below is a photo of me that Jackie, my husband took without my permission today. I'm painting the trees right behind our house and studio. My studio is upstairs and overlooks the woods. but I had to be outside to feel the light and be eye level with the trees. I have been working outside on this daily  at 4PM - but today it was 3 as time changed last night:... It was a pretty day today!  Here is Scaredy- my cat today - she always keeps me company! Okay brush washing! Awhile back a friend asked how I washed my brushes and suggested that I blog about it. When I'm outside painting en plein air, I rinse my brushes in the portable brush washer and take it inside to my studio to re-rinse in a large vat of Gamisol that I have or wash them with my cleaner on the road. Sometimes I  just use white soap away from home...

  ‎"...the oldness of it all. That is something I always try to capture in my paintings- the oldness of a place...." - Roger Dale Brown (quote form American Art Collector July, 2011) To be a good landscape painter you have to be able to paint what you see...   To be a GREAT landscape painter you have to paint the scene in a way that is "minds eye" beautiful , tasteful, and artistically rendered. Here are photos of a "southern scene" - a delta cotton field scene and church that I'm painting right now: Combined with: Actually to be honest, I had neither photos in the studio while painting. If you've seen one of these delta churches and cotton fields you've about seen them all. I just love them - and have about memorized them. I just found these photo references for the blog for you to see in case you've never seen southern cotton fields and churches.   Here's my small study (11x14): A Southern Scene 11x14 Oil. ©Dot Cour...

Just got home from the SE Plein Air Invitational. Here are some photos: "Sweet Home Alabama" - my favorite painting  that I did this week...  But....Blessed to be awarded winner of the Quick Draw this week. Craig Reynolds of Alabama won 2nd place with this beautiful painting!  My friend Millie Gosch from Georgia won 3rd place with this wonderful loose painting. All the winners did the SAME house!!  Weird, huh??? I did not get his photo image, but here is my little painting of artist Ralph Parker (from Texas) painting.  "Blue Skies Return" was done the day after the devastating storms.  "Evening Song".12x9, Oil. Sold.  One evening I did the above image of "Evening Song" (sorry iPhone image was not too good!)  from 5-6 PM after a full day of painting, This was just prior to a lovely reception held in a beautiful  private home... It was painted outside on the grounds of this home up on the...

I'm finding out about some exciting new tech- y things for artists...and I'm thinking about how to use technology to assist collectors in being able to easily see my work. For instance, here is a painting that I like and now have for sale -but only recently have I exhibited it in any gallery. This photo shows it here in my studio where I painted it. It's now the front of my website. Golden Shore 30c40 ,Oil -©Dot Courson I put it on the front my website over a year ago when I painted it. Since I have now decided to sell it, I need as many people as possible to see it:That is the first image of my work you see when you go to www.dotcourson.com  .  I have had this website for 4 years, and this blog for awhile now. Two years ago I joined Facebook. Recently I added a "Page" on Facebook called, "Dot Courson Fine Art and Workshops" .... Now I'm on Twitter @DotCoursonArt. I'm trying to be "out there"... Smartphones and APPs- What I...