Spring Painting

[Dot Courson]

Today I have been getting prepared to travel to paint in the Southeastern Plein Air Invitational. It is a wonderful time with artist friends and it is an honor to be taking part in this festival again! Here is an oil demo from a few years ago when I was teaching a "Plein Air Boot Camp" at that event:

It's been an exciting week... On April 1st, my Plein Air Magazine  arrived with a story written by Editor Stephen Doherty about art (mostly plein air) that my husband and I collect... It shows some of the paintings that's been collected from art teachers (I have a painting from every artist that I ever taken a workshop with!) and lots of artist friends who swapped paintings with me, etc.... I was especially happy as a proud mother, that a painting by my daughter, artist Susan Patton was in the article -a recent painting she did from life...her birthday gift to me!  In the photo is a bird's nest that my daughter Emily gave me...proving there is "beautiful art in nature"!

Earlier this week our local town magazine came by and did a photo shoot and question and answer session for a story for Invitation Tupelo. As you may know if you are an artist, it's truly an honor to be in the news in your own hometown!

But my mind has been on painting. Specifically: Painting "spring"..!.

We have short springs in Mississippi and artists are anxious to get out and enjoy nature. One day this week two horses joined me while painting near my home. Being set up too close to the fence, they broke up my session by almost pushing my easel over!

Later I painted a local country church: Tonight one of my works sold at a local Gumtree Museum Gala. It was entitled "Dog Days of Summer"!

If you have never heard the term- to me "dog days" just means sweltering heat and humidity.

Summer, as a "season" is awhile away, but it will be hot here soon and by July I will be so excited and ready to travel to beautiful Ireland to visit the the towns, people and countryside- and to paint and teach in Art in The Open!...

Hope to see you there!!!