Dot Courson Fine Art Blog

 Announcing,   Two Paths, One Journey:  The Blended Influences of Landscape Artist Dot Courson and her Daughter- Portrait Artist, Susan Patton   September1-- October 30, 2023 Gumtree Musuem of Art, Tupelo, MS.  This exhibit will provide works to show how art takes on relationships with the artists, their friends and family, and the community and how it creates an emotional connection between the viewer and the artwork.   Read how Susan and I relate to each other and our art in this link to the Oil Painters of America blog here:   Oil Painters of America: Family, Memories and Landscape Below are pictures of us or activities with family and friends who share the love of our art!  Show paintings will be coming soon! Susan's painting of family members in "Reminiscing".  Dot Painting a little girl in a plein air invitational in Alabama in 2016. Grandson Noah painting in Dot's Studio as his brother Caleb watches.  Dot Painting at Tra...

Sometimes it is difficult for an artist to communicate verbally to non-artists. Like the retired airline pilot I was talking to on the phone today. I was describing waves and beach colors in terms like "warm and cool colors" and "atmospheric density at the horizon", etc. It was clear that these descriptive terms were confusing him. I followed up with an email and images to help explain. Sea Birds © 2016||Dot Courson   I’ve noticed that  with every ocean or body of water there are defining characteristics of atmosphere, light and colors that set it apart from all the other waterside settings around the same time of day. Sunrise Sunset ©2018| Dot Courson The Gulf Coast is soft and light in warm and cool pastel colors and usually has smooth elegant waves. Also, one views the water from a beach or up on beautiful sand dunes near sea level at (eye level) and it feels like the horizon is very wide. Coast...

.  I was reading an article by Wells Tower in  Garden and Gun   where he quoted southern writer Barry Hannah who said, “...being  Southern  isn't always a graceful adjective; it’ll kill you sometimes. Often, it’s shorthand for ‘Don’t bother reading this because it’s just gonna be a lot of porches and banjos.’”   This rang true to me because last week I had a tweet from someone describing my painting in the garden as " quaint ". What? Is my banjo showing? Well, I should just get over it and just face the facts: I love quaint. Here is the update on the progress of the painting of our garden from my last blog: Garden painting in progress ©2013 Dot Courson To me, being an artist is feels like the act of immersing oneself and into the beauty and wonder of everyday things. In other words, I’m just living the life I always have- but showing it in my paintings. Pintrest boards with names like "Chic Obsessions" or anything "Haute" or "...

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! ...

Northeast Mississippi Community College in Booneville invited my daughter and I to exhibit at Anderson Hall Gallery this month. We both graduated from there before going on to finish our degrees in other universities. I attended NE in the 70s (nursing - RN program) and Susan in the 90s (pre-physical. Today we went up today to see the show which runs until the end of the month. Susan's children (my grandchildren) went up as well and it was fun seeing the 50 paintings on exhibit. I think you can find lots of family in these paintings as well as familiar southern landscapes. Here are photos of both our works:  All the works below are Susan's works:

Below are photographed works in the beginning of my painting process along with the finished- or almost finished - works. The whole painting process is fun, and may surprise many collectors and students of art who only see my finished works. This way of painting works for me and keeps color bright and helps the final painting look loose and (hopefully) "painterly! They are realistic when viewed from and distance and in these photos, but (trust me) they are much more impressionistic in real life! I dislike "stiff" starts. These loose starts keep my work "alive". It is a free, creative and enjoyable process. It is not painting inside the lines, but I like to think that it is intelligently done and thought out ahead of time... Still life starts which are usually tonal, because these are done in a bit more realistic style than my other works. There are reasons behind everything that is done. It is not as mindless as it looks! Some of these are still unfin...