Welcome
Welcome to Penny Dobson's mixed media art
You can now pay through my website by clicking buy now.
Happy art can make for a happy life!
A Little bit about me
I have known I was an artist since I was 10. I knew
I wanted to have a career in art, but didn’t know what
It would be until I entered high school.
My art teacher in the 9th grade
inspired me to want to teach. I retired from
Teaching in 2020, moved to Alabama,and now get
to be a full time artist.
It was a good move! I thought when I retired I
would work normal hours on my art. However, I
find myself working 12 hour days because I just
want to keep creating!
I’ve been making art and taking it to art shows for
almost 26 years now. I am considered a mixed
media artist because I don’t use just one medium.
I always use oils, however. I also use seed beads,
gold leaf, alcohol ink, and handmade papers.
I paint only animals, flowers, and birds because this
is what I would want to hang in my house. One day,
I plan to focus on landscapes as well. What I paint is
determined by my frame or object on which I am going
to paint.
A few years ago I found a twin bell alarm clock in an
antique mall, and thought it was adorable. So I
decided to paint on it. My obsession for vintage items
grew from there. I’m particularly fond of things from
the 70’s. Recently, I started making my own frames.
Sometimes I find antique dresser mirrors and use
them for the frames. Anything that is more challenging
to use is worked on by my husband.
One of my techniques involves placing seed beads one
at a time into resin. This technique has evolved over the
years. It began because I had bought a bunch of beads
to make lanyards that I never made. One day I looked
at the beads and had the thought to use them in my
backgrounds. I am familiar with the Huichols who also
use seed beads. This was not what gave me the idea.
Before the seed beads, I would place small dots of paint
in my backgrounds in the same patterns I now place my
beads.
The gold leaf came about in a similar manner. I had
bought a bunch of it to use in my mixed media
backgrounds.Yet another thing I had too much of. I
very much love Medieval art with the gold backgrounds
So it was natural that I should try this as well.
Finally, I complete my art with a 1970’s penny. This is
when I was born. No, I do not look through all of my
pennies. You can find them on ebay in rolls, but they
are now worth more than 1 cent. I like the penny
better than a signature. I just have never liked signing
the front of my work. Maybe it is because I have bad
handwriting. I do, nevertheless, sign it on the back.
Art Festival Schedule
July 8-9 Madison Art Fair on the Square, Madison, WI
September 6, Penrod Arts Fair, Indianapolis, IN
September 25-28 Red River Revel, Shreveport, LA
October 11-12, Kentuck Art Festival, Tuscaloosa, AL
October 18-19 River Arts, Memphis, TN
Mixed media art and paintings in an online art gallery