Dori DeCamillis

I'm finally announcing my new blog, Without a Net. It will offer more in-depth information about my paintings, and will include features about people and organizations I find fascinating. The blog you're reading now will remain more of a personal scrapbook, and Without a Net will be a venue for my writing with plenty of art, humor, and connectivity with others. withoutanetblog.com

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 ...

Today the beautiful and talented Kendra Thornton shares a few of her favorite things about her home city of Chicago, and I give my take on good stuff in Birmingham. Kendra is a former communications director at Orbitz , a travel advocate, TV spokesperson, PR businesswoman, and mom of 3.  photo by Jais Stanfield Why I Love Birmingham by Dori I moved to Alabama almost 20 years ago after spending 3 years traveling all over the country fulltime. Of all the places in the lower 48, I chose to settle in Birmingham because of a long list of practical and poetic reasons. I’ve not regretted it for a day. Besides its amiable climate, lush and mountainous terrain, easy to navigate layout and amazingly friendly people, there are a host of excellent things to do. Dining It surprises people to know that Birmingham is home to a few of the very best restaurants in the country. Chefs Frank Stitt, owner of Highlands Bar and Grill , Bottega , and Chez FonFon , and Chris ...

Some of my favorites from the Chilton County, Alabama Chicken Show on Saturday.

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 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...

Mark Ryden. Read his bio below. Blending themes of pop culture with techniques reminiscent of the old masters, Mark Ryden has created a singular style that blurs the traditional boundaries between high and low art. His work first garnered attention in the 1990s when he ushered in a new genre of painting, "Pop Surrealism", dragging a host of followers in his wake. Ryden has trumped the initial surrealist strategies by choosing subject matter loaded with cultural connotation. Ryden’s vocabulary ranges from cryptic to cute, treading a fine line between nostalgic cliché and disturbing archetype. Seduced by his infinitely detailed and meticulously glazed surfaces, the viewer is confronted with the juxtaposition of the childhood innocence and the mysterious recesses of the soul. A subtle disquiet inhabits his paintings; the work is achingly beautiful as it hints at darker psychic stuff beneath the surface of cultural kitsch. In Ryden's world cherubic girls rub elbows wit...

I took these photos for my lecture at Mobile Museum of Art, Sunday, July 10, 1:30 pm. One of my paintings of Alabama favorite places is inspired by Jones Valley Urban Farm. My daughter, Annabelle, is peeling onions in the greenhouse: below. JVUF, located in downtown Birmingham, has small garden plots for locals, sells produce at local Farmer's Markets, and educates about sustainable, organic farming.

Tony Oursler projects moving video onto objects. His impressive resume His studio His website

New Work by Shannon Brooks-Hamilton Opening at Red Dot Gallery February 4, 2011 5-9 pm Showing through March 19, 2011 Drawings, Jewelry, and Mixed Media Objects

Shots of Holiday Show 2010, December 6. Show is open until Dec. 18. Kids in Thursday afternoon class preparing the decorations Adam, Sara, and friends Liz and Ryan Scott before Scott after Beverley with Shannon's jewelry Mary Kay with her work Dori's Fish Boxes