About Debra Joyce Dawson

I paint colorful outdoor landscapes. Whether working in the studio or en plein air my medium of choice is oil. Before painting, preparatory sketches or drawings in graphite, charcoal, ballpoint pen, or watercolor ease the way into the oil paintings which are executed using a palette knife and/or brushes. My art conveys a sense of energy through texture that stems from a wide variety of mark making.

I am an Ohio artist who travels and paints on site. A feature article about my six weeks plein air trip to India can be found in the January 2006 issue of American Artist Magazine! This coming winter I will spend four weeks painting in the North of India and in the Kingdom of Bhutan. My third solo exhibition at the Sharon Weiss Gallery in Columbus, OH opens in June 2007. Contact me to purchase a copy of the hardcover book "The Land We Call Ohio".

I paint colorful outdoor landscapes. Whether working in the studio or en plein air my medium of choice is oil. Before painting, preparatory sketches or drawings in graphite, charcoal, ballpoint pen, or watercolor ease the way into the oil paintings which are executed using a palette knife and/or brushes. My art conveys a sense of energy through texture that stems from a wide variety of mark making. I am an Ohio artist who travels and paints on site. A feature article about my six weeks plein air trip to India can be found in the January 2006 issue of American Artist Magazine! This coming winter I will spend four weeks painting in the North of India and in the Kingdom of Bhutan. My third solo exhibition at the Sharon Weiss Gallery in Columbus, OH opens in June 2007. Contact me to purchase a copy of the hardcover book "The Land We Call Ohio".		Biography Debra Joyce Dawson, 52 Lookout Lane, Pataskala, OH 43062 740.927.3078; cell 740-730-1791 Permanent Collections: Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio Supreme Court, Ohio Historical Society, Central Ohio Diabetes Association, Open Heart Recovery Unit of University Hospital, Baltimore, MD Private Collections: Arnold Schwarzenegger and collections around the USA, England, France, Puerto Rico, New Zealand 2010 EXHIBITIONS: JANUARY 24 - APRIL 4: 2-Person Exhibition with Ray Hassard The Richmond Museum of Art, Richmond, Indiana Plein Air and Studio Works from India and Bhutan JUNE: 5th Solo Exhibition Sharon Weiss Gallery, Columbus, Ohio 2010 WORKSHOPS: Sponsored by Sunbear Studio, Sunbury, OH May 8 & 9 - 9am - 5pm CRAZY FOR COLOR For more info, contact debrajoycedawson@earthlink.net See more of Debra's work on the Ohio Plein Air Society website: http://www.ohiopleinairsociety.com/member_pages/dawson/dawson.htm Link to Tahski Delek article: "Painting Bhutan" pgs. 38 - 42 http://www.tashidelek.in/pdfs/july07.pdf Energetic, exciting and colorful are all words that immediately come to mind when you first see Debra Joyce Dawsons oil paintings. From her landscapes painted on location to her figurative works created in the studio, Debras artwork always conveys her passion for the mood and atmosphere she finds in her subjects. Constantly challenging herself to keep her work fresh with new subject matter, Debra frequently travels the world in search of a heart-stopping moment of light on the land or an arresting face or costume. Having already painted extensively in Europe, Asia, Puerto Rico, and throughout North America, she completed a third painting excursion to India and Bhutan in fall 2009. In the past year, Debra's work was included in the Oil Painters of America National Exhibition at Sage Creek Gallery, Santa Fe, NM; a solo exhibition at the Zanesville Museum of Art; the 3rd Peninsula Art School's Invitational Door County Plein Air Festival in Fish Creek, Wisconsin; as well as "Remembering Russell", a curated exhibition of plein air works at the Columbus Museum of Art's Russell Page Garden. Recent awards were received at the '09 OPAS Winter Juried Exhibition in Zanesville, OH; 2nd Place and Artists' Choice Award at the 5th Ohio Plein Air Society Competition (OPAS); and a Purchase Award for the permanent collection of the Columbus Museum of Art. In recent years, she was also selected to paint in the national Plein Air Easton! A juried competition held in Maryland, the inuagural Door County Plein Air Festival in Fish Creek, Wisconsin, served as Artist-in-Residence for Michigan's Hiawatha National Forest, and was one of six central Ohio artists who worked on the 2003 Bicentennial Paint Ohio Project. Painting since Santa brought her that first set of oil paints in 5th grade, Debra pursued formal art training in Maryland and New Jersey. Marriage brought her from her home state of Maryland to Ohio, where she returned to the study of art at Capital University, Denison University, and at the Columbus College of Art and Design. Today she continues her education by taking workshops with many plein-air masters, such as: Ken Cadwallader, OPA; Michael Dudash, OPA; Mark Hanson, OPA; Frank LaLumia. PAPA; Ken Auster and Carolyn Anderson. Debra's dedication to excellence in art has resulted in numerous awards and accolades. Her paintings are included in the permanent collections of the Columbus Museum of Art, the Ohio Supreme Court, Ohio Historical Society, Central Ohio Diabetes Association, Hiawatha National Forest, Munising, MI, Westerville Public Library and University Hospital, Baltimore, MD; in private collections around the U.S., the Caribbean, Canada, England and New Zealand; and have been reproduced as limited-edition prints, calendars, and greeting cards and in such publications as American Artist Magazine, Tashi Delek Magazine, Plein Air Magazine, American Art Collector, and a book titled The Land We Call Ohio, among others. Debra's work has also been selected for inclusion in the prestigious Oil Painters of America's national and regional exhibitions, the national juried "Contemprary American Realism: 2008" at the Ft. Wayne Museum of Art in Indiana. A believer in giving back to the community of artists, Debra is a founding member, immediate past president, and current Trustee of The Ohio Plein Air Society. Debra's fifth solo exhibition at the Sharon Weiss Gallery in Columbus, Ohio is scheduled for June 2010. The Pierre Paul Gallery in Ann Arbor, Michigan, also represents her work. From January - April 2010, Debra is showing works from India and Bhutan with her friend and fellow artist, Ray Hassard, at the Richmond Art Museum in Indiana. In June, she is having her fifth solo exhibition at the Sharon Weiss Gallery in Columbus, OH. Read her Blog: http://prismatic-palette.blogspot.com/ Find Art Groups at ArtChain.com Debra is a member of American Impressionist Society, Oil Painters of America, National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society, Indiana Plein Air Painters Association, and Ohio Plein Air Society.