Dori DeCamillis

Daughter Annabelle looking at herself on the computer to draw herself looking at her computer. We've been lucky enough this spring break to have a little time to make art together in the studio.

Last Thursday I taught an oil painting workshop at Forstall Art Supply to a group from St. Rose Academy. We had fun and look how talented they are. 

The images here are from a spring walk at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. This time of year you must go to BBG every week if you don't want to miss something blooming. I've tried to label the plants that I know. One image (just below) is from my own yard. Veronica I wish I knew Magnolia Bamboo Forest Magnolia! Spirea close up Star Magnolia close up Lenten Rose (Helebore) Grape Holley Spirea Camillia Star Magnolia Quince

For years my daughter, Annabelle, has been dressing up as her favorite characters from Japanese animation and web comics. The term for this pastime is Cosplay . I've posted some of her greatest hits. Here is a link to the a more complete collection, on Annabelle's Tumblr site . Her friend, Miranda Bates is her usual companion for photo shoots, Cons (conventions) and costume making.  The characters with orange horns are from the web comic, Homestuck . Don't ask me the names of all the characters.  I felt a little sleazy doing the photo shoot above, but she said this exemplified the personality of her character.  The things moms do.

My paintings always feature animals and/or nature. I travel to art museums and cities for inspiration, but my most effective way to get ideas and subjects is to hike or visit places off-the-beaten-path. This past weekend I went to nearby Oak Mountain State Park, a great hiking destination with a working farm. (It has many other features, but I only partook in the trails and farm this time.) Here are some photos of my adventure.  I definitely see a goat in a future painting. Taken near Shackleford Point, a high point in the park. The valley was warm and quiet, but the top of the mountain was cold and windy. I had already drawn out the beginnings of a peacock/woman painting, not sure if I'd go ahead with it. This eye-pooping, in-my-face peacock sighting sealed the deal for me. This adorable fellow followed me everywhere around the farm. He was so quiet and gentle I would forget he was around, and he kept startling me when I turned around to see him a ...

My wolf painting came about in an unusual way. I never intended for it to be a collaboration or a commission, in fact I don’t normally go in for either, but this piece wanted to come into being in its own fashion. I am a regular attendee at the Alabama Folk School (AFS) near Jasper, Alabama. It is held at Camp McDowell, a summer-camp-like retreat well known by most who’ve grown up in Alabama. Tucked in one of the most beautiful areas of the Bankhead National Forest the Folk School hosts weekend workshops several times a year, with classes in various types of music on the rustic end of the spectrum, and visual arts of all kinds. I am sometimes a visiting artist there, which means I paint as I please while workshop attendees are free to observe me working and ask questions. One day while I painted (a moose in a business suit hanging out in Red Square, Moscow) a friendly fellow I’d recently met sat down to watch me work. He asked intelligent questions about my intentions an...