Ramona Dooley -- About the Artist

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About Ramona

A La Plage (At the Beach)

"It is both a constant challenge and continuing inspiration to successfully create on canvas a portion of God's masterpiece." "Give unto God the glory due to His Name..."

At the Beach Plein air Painting (Part II) - a slideshow of beach scenes

Essentially self-taught, I am a plein air/alla prima impressionist. My plein air paintings and alla prima paintings from life are so fresh and alive I decided to call them Paintings with a Heartbeat™.

I have been painting and exhibiting since 1971. For the past 11 years, I have been represented by fine art galleries in New Jersey and New York; and my paintings have been accepted in dozens of juried national and international exhibits across the country including the prestigious Greenhouse Gallery of Fine Art's Salon International Exhibits and the Oil Painters of America's National Exhibit - scroll down to see "Exhibits, Awards and other information.

In 2009 I received a Jury's Top 50 award at the Salon International Exhibit - Greenhouse Gallery of Fine Art (Texas) and in 2008, I received an Honorable Mention at the American Impressionist Society Exhibit.

1993 would be a year I will always remember! I was home on my lunch hour from work and began watching the WorldScape series on PBS, which featured world-renowned marine artist, John Stobart. I was so excited about the series that I decided to write him a letter. John's strongest advice to me was to “PAINT ON LOCATION”.

My first plein air painting was difficult - it was an exhausting three-hour session each day for four days. Perhaps I should have used a smaller canvas and larger brush! But in time I became more relaxed, quicker with my brushstrokes, and very ecstatic about on-site painting. I believe John's advice to paint on location was the biggest positive influence on my painting career.

With over 3 decades of experience, including 17 years painting plein air, my paintings reflect many hours spent observing nature –the variable wonders of God’s creation - the beautiful billowy clouds passing over the mountaintops and the sun-drenched colors of summer gardens. Painting plein air demands my full attention and although it can be quite challenging, it is immensely enjoyable and rewarding.

Working with a limited palette (3 to 6 colors), I paint wet into wet, completing most paintings in one session. Many times I paint boldly without any preliminary sketch. And to squeeze in more time to paint, I often paint on my lunch hour at work.

I use plein air studies and/or photos for my studio paintings. I also use reference material such as anatomical models; handmade paper buildings and boats; and wagons/carts, animals and figures from my HO scale and doll collections.

I feel compelled to encourage aspiring artists to paint plein air as I am convinced nature is your best teacher. So in 2008 I started to do plein air demo videos that can be viewed on YouTube.com.

CLICK HERE TO SEE A SPONTANEOUS INTRODUCTION - PAINTING AT THE BEACH



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AWARDS:
(2009) Jury's Top Fifty Award - Salon Intern. 2009 @ Greenhouse Gallery of Fine Art (TX)
(2008) Honorable Mention - American Impressionist Society @ Coda Fine Art Gallery (CA)
(2007) 3rd Place Oils - AAR 40th Annual Members Spring Show (NJ)
(2006) 3rd Place - National Greeley Art Exhibition (CO)
(2006) Honorable Mention 3rd Annual Central Coast Nat. Fine Arts Comp (CA)
(2006) Special Recognition Award-8th Annual All Media International
(2006) Award of Merit - AAR Fall Members Show (NJ)
(1994) Honorable Mention - PFW & Art Gallery - WEAA Exhibit (NJ)

EXHIBITS (Selected)
(TX)                   2009 Salon International @ Greenhouse Gallery of Fine Art, San Antonio
                             (also 2005 Salon International @ Greenhouse Gallery
                             and 2002 Salon International @ Greenhouse Gallery)
(NY) 2009          Salmagundi Club Summer Potpourri Exhibit
(NJ) 2009          29th Annual Mountain Art Show - juried
(TX) 2009          Navarro Council of the Arts & Corsicana Art League National Juried Show
(WI) 2009          Richeson 75: Still Life & Floral 2009 International Art Competition
(CA) 2008          American Impressionist Society 9th Annual Nat. Juried Exh.
                             @ Coda Fine Art Gallery, Palm Desert
(NY) 2008          Salmagundi Club (5 separate exhibits)
(WI) 2008          6th Annual National Juried Exhibit @ Barnsite Gallery
(CO - 2008         National Greeley Art Exhibition
(CA) 2007          MBAA Annual Central Coast Fine Arts Exhibition
(WI) 2007         Annual Barns and Farms Exh. - Barnsite Art Studio & Gallery
(TX) 2007         BAL National 45th Annual Exhibit (TX)
(CO) 2006          Northern Colorado Artists Association–15th National Exh.
(NM) 2005          PANM International Juried Exhibition
(CO) 2005          45th Annual Artists’ Alpine Holiday Exhibit  (Juried)
(WY) 2005          Wind River Valley Artists' Guild National Exhibit
(NJ) 2005          Wilson Gallery Annual Art Show (Juried)
(NY) 2004           Main Street Gallery - Regional Small Works (Juried)
(NY) 2004           International Classical Art Gallery (Juried)
(NJ) 2004           NJ-AAPL Small Works -Renee Foosaner Art Gallery (Juried)
(CA) 2003           19th Annual National North Valley Art League Show
(NB) 2002           Painting II International Juried Exhibition
(CA) 2001           Oil Painters of America 10th Annual National Juried Exhibition
(NJ) 2001            Cascata - Two Person Exhibit

MEMBERSHIPS:
Salmagundi Club (juried Artist member) www.salmagundi.org
Oil Painters of America (juried associate) http://www.oilpaintersofamerica.com/
American Impressionist Society, Inc. http://www.americanimpressionistsociety.org
New Jersey Society of En Plein Air Painters http://www.njspap.com/index.html

WORKSHOPS/OTHER:
2009 - Highlands Art Gallery (Chester, NJ) Paintout at Leonard J. Buck Garden with Howard Friedland and Susan Blackwood
2008 - Landscape Oil Painting Workshop (Morris Museum) - George Cochrane, professor of fine art (Fairleigh Dickinson Univ.) and exhibiting artist - exploring the tradition and practice of plein-air oil painting using a non toxic, oil painting technique.
2005 - Indoor Watercolor Workshop Week - Skip Lawrence (Mt. Freedom)

PUBLICATIONS:
2009 - American Art Collector Magazine - November Issue (Collector Comments)
2006 - Plein Air New Mexico (Jack Richeson Fine Art Series, Vol. I - "Green Chair & Hibiscus" included.
1999 - Illustrations for "Sarah and Her Grandpa" - Christadelphian Frontlets (Ellicott City, Maryland)

FORMER GALLERY REPRESENTATION
Grace Fine Art Gallery (Morristown, NJ)
Drue Chryst Gallery (Sparta, NJ)
Su's Art Gallery (Whippany, NJ)
The Gallery of CNY (Cazenovia, NY)
Lake Mohawk Gallery (Sparta, NJ)