Dori DeCamillis

My husband, Scott Bennett and his ceramic artist friend Chris Gryder collaborated on these wonderful wall pieces which were exhibited at The Kiln Studios in Fairhope, AL. Both sold right away. The pieces are particularly remarkable because the artists live 9 hours away from each other, and had to ship the pieces back and forth to work on them. 

Annabelle in her high school Christmas pageant. (She's Cindy Loo Who in the center) My mom turns 70 today. Here is a list of 70 things I love about her. At her age she still swims up to 2 miles at a time and takes exercise classes. She never was a picky eater. She loves movies, and gives good reviews. She is not a high-maintenance kind of gal. She laughs a lot. She writes the very best emails about her life. She is an AMAZINGLY TALENTED artist! She isn’t a bragger or a name-dropper. She loves to decorate. And not just for Christmas. She writes, gardens, cooks healthy food, and can sing well. She trusts people. She’s fair and honest with money. She has a unique way of seeing the world. She’s NOT boring. She isn’t a sissy. She’s played sports, been outdoorsy, and did heavy work all her life. She is and always was exceptionally beautiful. She doesn’t sleep too much. (Well, some people do!)  She likes to play indoor games...

Karyn Mosley Featured today are some images of work finished this week by Red Dot students. Ricki Jill Treleaven Gail Rule (Her very first landscape, and her second painting ever) Ann Vaphiades  (photo lightens the top left corner too much, will post again when I get a better image)

Natalie Bailey Here's another selection of paintings completed this year by my students. Nadine  L'Eplattenier Louise Parsons Kristin Martin Ricki Jill Treleaven (an older one, check back for new pieces by RJ) Beverley Phillips Corey Wolf Mary Compton Louise Parsons Casey Lancaster

Nancy Stein This month I'll feature a few posts of paintings and drawings my students have completed in 2012. Seeing them all together makes me very grateful to be surrounded by such hard-working and talented people every week. All the work here is oil paintings on canvas or board. Charlotte Manning Kathy Hinkle Glenda Weathers Anne Vaphiades Jeanne Alexander Pat Conrad Ellen Moore Kristin Martin

My daughter, Annabelle, has been selected as one of 150 national finalists in the YoungArts competition. From Wikipedia, here is some info on the prestigious contest. YoungArts  is a  talent -based  scholarship  program which honors and awards  high school  and  college  students, mostly  American , for their prowess in the  performing ,  visual  and  literary arts . The program is considered by many to be the most prestigious arts competition for young adults; it is also the exclusive nominating organization for the  Presidential Scholars of the Arts . The foundation is headquartered in  Miami , Florida . Awards Students chosen as National Finalists are invited to attend YoungArts Week in  Miami ,  Florida , all expenses paid, usually during the second week of January. YoungArts Week provides the Finalists with a series of master classes, showcase performances, exhibitions, readings,...

Come draw with me! Sign up now for a landscape drawing workshop at Alabama Folk School at  Camp McDowell November 1 through 5. Details

My painting, "By the Grave and Thee" will be exhibited at  REMEMBRANCE , Celebrating Alabama's 10th Day of the Dead Festival   October 5 -  October 26, 2012 Guest Curator, Wendy Jarvis Opening Reception:    Friday October 5,  5:00 - 9:30pm Location:    ArtFolk Gallery The  Young & Vann Building  1731 First Avenue North, Birmingham, AL  35203    http://goo.gl/maps/1DJ0K Heading West on 1st Ave North.  Cross 18th Street North.  Turn almost immediately into the first parking lot on your left.  Walk in the door on the parking lot side.  ArtFolk is second door on your left. The exhibit will feature works by local artists inspired by Day of the Dead in honor of the festival's tenth anniversary.  Most works will be for sale.  There will also be a wall of skull masks decorated by local artists and volunteers which will be for "competitive sale", also known...

"The Embrace" Oil on Canvas Casey Lancaster has two pieces exhibited in the 2012 Red Dot Gallery Student Show. A student at Red Dot for a few years now, Casey is enthusiastic, funny, and much-loved by her teacher and fellow students. Her work has always had a Georgia O'Keefe kind of stylized smoothness to it, and she is fearless about exploring very personal subject matter. (The pieces here don't reflect that, but we'll show that off later.)  "Once a Century" Oil on Canvas

Taken at the Red Dot Student Show opening. This pretty much sums up our family.

"Pomegranates and Lace" Ricki Jill Treleaven 2012 Reminder! 2012 Red Dot Gallery Student Show  Opens Friday, September 28 Through November 17 Red Dot Gallery  1001 Stuart Street  Birmingham, AL 35226 205.240.0183 www.reddotgallery.com

Joyce Hudson drawing 2012 Red Dot Gallery Student Show Come see new work of Red Dot Gallery painting, drawing, and ceramic students.  Opening September 28, 5-9 pm through November 17, 2012 Red Dot Gallery 1001 Stuart Street Birmingham, AL 35226 205.870.7608 www.reddotgallery.com

2012, Oil on Canvas, 34" x 40" My 17 year old daughter, Annabelle, just sold another painting from her portrait series. "The Duke of Birmingham" depicts our lawyer/farmer friend, Andy Laplante, dressed in Elizabethan duds, sitting on his porch with his dogs. Annabelle is currently getting her college applications ready, and is planning on applying to School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Rhode Island School of Design, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, University of Alabama, Birmingham, and Montevallo University. 

New painting by Red Dot oil painting student Glenda Weathers. She's only been painting for a few months and is already making work like this! Glenda is diligent with a capital D, really fun to have in class, and (having been a teacher herself) is the ideal student--a good listener and follower of directions. These may not seem like romantic, artsy things, but they are the key to a good foundation where spontaneity and free-thinking can be cultivated. Glenda has a bright future in painting, for sure.

Annabelle DeCamillis, my daughter, has been practicing belly dancing for almost two years and has posted a couple videos of her dancing on Youtube. The first was filmed in Ann Arbor, MI in an alley plastered with graffiti. Graffiti Belly Dance The second is a creative interpretation of one of her favorite web cartoons, Homestuck . My middle-age explanation of what Homestuck is about would be blasted by young fans, so just watch the video and enjoy.  Homestuck Belly Dance

The Birmingham Museum of Art and the Birmingham Art Association present Art on Stage, a morning of artist demonstrations and talks with Alabama artists Dori DeCamillis, Scott Bennett, Frank Fleming, and Barbara Evans. The event includes continental breakfast and refreshments. Friday, August 24, 2012, 9:00 am to 12:15 am Advance registration is required. $35/person. Please click here to register online , or contactkpgreenwood@artsbma.org to register over the phone.

From my self-portrait series, "See Right Through Me," this is called "Buriest Thy Content." It is about the nasty inner critic who ruins creativity with over-analysis and cynicism. All my titles come from Shakespeare's sonnets. I'm currently writing a book about the series. 16" x 20"  Oil on Board

Karyn Mosley had been a student at Red Dot for a few months, and this is her first landscape. With a photo she took of the Little River Canyon area of Alabama, she obviously caught on quick to the landscape genre. She also adds a dose of irreverent humor and wise insights to class--an awfully good combo in my book. 

This summer my 17 year-old kid, Annabelle, had a summer job drawing chalkboard art for a soon-to-open restaurant in Birmingham. She used pastels to do 9 large pieces that hang throughout the restaurant. Creekside Tavern, a family-type restaurant opens this Wednesday. The subject matter was mostly chosen by the restaurant owners, Margee and Blake Sly. They preferred scenes of people doing everyday things, and many are from photos taken around the shopping center where their restaurant is located.  The plan is to erase the pieces and recreate them for the change of seasons. For a teenager the project was an amazing experience, both for making art-for-hire and having a summer job in her field. The work is done with high-quality soft pastels on black chalkboard. 

A recent painting from my "See Right Through Me" series which depicts my various mind states.  "And That Fresh Blood" 16" x 20" Oil on Board

A couple of weeks ago I went to Trappist, Kentucky for a four day silent retreat at  Thomas Merton's Gethsemane Abbey. People come from all over the world to visit. www.monks.org On the way, my husband and I visited Daylily World the daylily gardens of David Kirchhoff and Mort Morss. They are among America's preeminent hybridizers, and their gardens and home are out of a storybook. For 43 years they have been coming up with some of the world's most dazzling hybrids.  On the retreat I spent my days taking walks though the gorgeous Abbey grounds, having some luxurious time to myself, and appreciating the atmosphere created by over 150 years of monks at prayer. The grounds had farm fields, surprisingly steep forested "knobs," and lakes. I liked the way the light streamed in to my room one late afternoon. I have time to appreciate this kind of stuff when I'm not cramming my day with activity. The architecture o...