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The Garden Party, by Dorothy Fagan, plein air oil on canvas.
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Florence Vista, oil painting.
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World on a String, plein air oil on canvas.
While chatting and enjoying a garden party, artist Dorothy Fagan painted a vibrantly colored oil painting capturing the joyful spirit and camaraderie of the guests. She returned to her studio in Mathews satiated and inspired.
Part of her new series, My Own Backyard, Dorothy also painted the homecoming of the Freya, a sailboat at the Mathews Maritime Foundation, a workboat at the home of her painting mentor, Bob Mayo on the Piankatank; and kite flying on the beach at Bavon with her grandchildren. Seeing herself in the symbolism of images in her paintings she quips, “Oh go fly a kite! My free-ya workboat is on the beach with the kids!”
Venezia Dream, oil painting.
Seeing the Creator’s whimsy in her paintings, Dorothy writes inspirational stories that engage readers in finding the Creator in day-to-day life. Sharing inspiration and fostering creativity comes naturally. She loves speaking to groups, sharing stories, and engaging others. Prints of her paintings and stories are available on thepaintinglesson.com.
More valuable than art are the friendships. They are the “heart connection” with others that inspires her. Imagining the women ~ wearing their garden party ~ colorful hydrangea, butterfly blouses, water lily jackets, Dorothy began painting fabrics. Remembering herself printing fabrics in high school, she knew she’d come home.
Since moving to Mathews 17 years ago, Dorothy perfected her artistry as a landscape painter, painting en plein air along the creeks and marshes of the Chesapeake Bay region of Virginia. In 2013 she traveled to France for an artist’s residency at Musée de La Grande Vigne in Brittany, Provence, and Paris. Without speaking a word of French, she connected heart to heart with people from all over the world through her art.
Dorothy Fagan wears A Lily Pond of My Own kimono jacket.
From this powerful experience, she wrote a book, Discovering Joy’s Garden, to give others an armchair artist’s residency. Wishing to have the creative freedom of an artist’s residency all the time, in 2015 she crafted a creativity retreat in Tuscany to find out if she could absorb the Tuscan lifestyle into her art and life forever.
The process she used in Tuscany is written in her book, CreativSOUP, in simple recipes with coloring and journaling pages inspired by her French and Tuscan artwork. Both books are available on Amazon.
Dorothy returns to Tuscany this fall to take a “Muses of Tuscany” retreat group. Each person will create a custom creativity retreat with a blend of Italian cooking lessons, watercolor journaling, plein air painting, Tuscan dinner parties, wine tastings, and exploring the tiny hilltop village where Dorothy’s newly adopted Italian family reconnects heart and mind. Space is still available.
Fagan’s oil paintings and fiber art are in corporate and private collections in the U.S., Canada, Singapore, Jordan, Italy, France, and Great Britain, including Musée de La Grande Vigne in Dinan, France, Boston Children’s Hospital, Camp LeJeune Mental Health Center, City University of New York and Longwood University Art Museum. She is represented by Chasen Galleries in Richmond, Prince George Art in Williamsburg, and Stewart Gallery in Gloucester.
Dorothy Fagan Collection is on the Middle Peninsula Artisan Trail Network. Her Studio by the Pond, 110 Skipjack Lane, Cobbs Creek, is open by appointment. Call or text 804-366-0990. Visit dorothyfagan.com to learn more.