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Dorothy Shepherd
818-353-0129
ladypainter71@yahoo.com
My interest in painting began in 1996. I had worked for twenty years as a Clinical Art Therapist and had used many art media in my work with children, but I was experiencing a need to find an art mode for my personal expression.
A well known Chinese Brush painter, Nan Rae, was giving instruction at the Huntington Library. I signed up for a class, and discovered an art form which I knew would provide continued growth and challenge for my elder years. At the time I was 63 years old.
I am trying to achieve two things with my art. I hope to acquaint the public with what I consider to be a particularly beautiful art form - Chinese Brush watercolor painting. The philosophy behind this kind of painting is to communicate the Spirit of Nature through Form - the artistic product.
Chinese Brush painting is an expressive art which allows me to express my own feelings about nature, to express the essence or “chi” of the image, and to give that essence form. If the viewer is drawn to my work and lingers, examining the parts and the whole, then I have been successful.
I also believe that we need more beauty in our lives, and it is my hope that the personal Spirit which is alive in each of us can be nourished by the small bit of Form which I can provide through my pictures. I believe that each of us must work for peace within ourselves first. My paintings are symbolic meditations. Let your eyes follow the lines of the forms. My hope is that, in doing this, you will feel more balanced, focused and peaceful.
In the fourteen years that I have worked in the Chinese Brush style of painting I have looked for ways to adapt the materials to other forms. For example, the painting, Trophy Trout, began as a nature print; that is, I took a trout that my husband had caught, gave it a thin coat of opalescent acrylic paint, and then made an impression of the fish using rice paper. Once the impression had dried, I used watercolors to enhance the fish and create a water environment. I was pleased when this painting won a 1st place in a Valley Artist Guild Gold Medal Show several years ago.
I live in the northeastern San Fernando Valley and am a regular participant in local art association shows. Also, I enter juried shows both nationally and internationally. In 2009, one of my paintings of Shrimp was accepted to the International Women Artists Juried Show in Zhen Zhen City, China. Also, this year my painting, Tiger, Tiger.., was one of 75 paintings selected from over 500 entries for the 24th Annual Animals in Art Juried Show at the Veterinary School of Medicine, University of Louisiana, Baton Rouge. This picture received the Dean's Choice Award, and was purchased as the first in a permanent collection of pictures from this annual show to be displayed at the school. Additionally, it was chosen as this year's Christmas card cover.
My awards bulletin board contains over 70 ribbons and merchandise awards.
My resume of exhibition participation runs to 60 pages with approximately 6 items per page. My studio is open by appointment. (818) 353-0129.
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* None of the artworks may be copied or reproduced without the written permission of the Artist