“Upon graduating from high school I was not able to immediately attend art school but during my years of raising a family I took classes at Bucks County Community College and studied with individual instructors. Although this kept me involved with creating art, there was always the feeling that there had to be more to great painting than the hit or miss method.  Because I had some success in competitions and marketing my work I decided in 2003 to paint full time. I worked in my studio everyday for six to eight hours painting and reading books on the techniques and philosophy of art. Eventually I realized that I needed more training so that I would have the tools to self critique and carry my work further. With the help of Myron Barnstone, I began to realize how much more there is to achieve and how exhilarating it is to understand color and composition the way the great masters of art applied them. This process is never ending but the journey is so much more rewarding with this information. I continue to study with Mr. Barnstone to this day.” quotes Dot. She continues, “As a full time studio painter I believe that the most important part of creating a good painting is the planning that takes place before color ever touches the canvas. My process involves making deliberate choices starting from the point of selecting an image through composition, color choices and execution of the actual work.”

Dot’s Classical work is inspired and influenced by painters of the old Paris Salon; Sir John William Waterhouse; William McGregor Paxton; Cecilia Beaux , John Singer Sargent and Rosa Bonheur. She combines the traditional studio methods taught at the old Ecole des Beaux Arts with a thorough knowledge of natural light using a rich, chromatic palette of modern colors. She is Impressionistic in that her work is "painterly" and emphasizes naturalistic lighting. She depicts the world as it is without a great deal of idealization.

For Dot, art is a science that requires practice and skill building just as in music and literature. Creativity with the foundation of solid construction and color usage is what great art is about. Kenyon Cox stated “Without design there may be representation but there is no art”. This is a motto that is written across her studio wall. Dot believes that a great artist is not purely self taught nor is art the result of mindless emotional expression. The greatest artists studied for years to acquire their skill in drawing and composition.

Dot paints landscapes and figurative work but her focus is always on the process of making a work of art, not on making a picture. She enjoys the challenge of building a composition that works two dimensionally while depicting reality. Dot says, “For me it’s as much about the process as it is about the emotional message. First the subject has to excite me. The rest is like composing a symphony or writing a novel. The battle is won or lost by how well trained you are and how creatively you can engage those skills. I work everyday and it is a real joy.”

Classes and Workshops –