A Dreamer Dorothy Fagan believes the landscape is a mirror of our own inner landscape ~ each of us charged with intense color, great depth and passion.  She paints “to provide a window to her own soul” and in the process opens a conversation which enables others to see themselves as well.

A Plein Air Painter Dorothy paints in oil and pastel on location en plein air and in her glass-walled studio by the pond. She can walk to the Chesapeake Bay from her studio in southern Virginia. She is known for her color. A colorist who sees light in dark places; she paints to enable others to see what she sees ~ brilliance and joy in every subject.

Trained by the Masters After earning her B. F. A. from East Carolina University in Printmaking and Painting with Don Sexauer and Ed Reep, she completed a ten-year Painting Mentorship in American Impressionist Painting with Robert B. Mayo, Valentine Museum and Gallery Mayo. She learned to think for herself ~ developing her own unique Color Sensing Technique over the past thirty years. She has written three books; The Suncatcher, Ping Journal and Dinner with the Muse.

She entertains with her unique ability to juxtapose dream interpretations with real life inspiration. Her skilled writing and story telling engage us in dreaming along with her ~ and in seeing ourselves through her enlightening vision.

Collections Her work has been featured in two PBS specials and is included in over two hundred private collections in the U. S., England, Lebanon and Canada. Her paintings are in the collections of the City University of New York, General Electric, First National Exchange Bank, International Paper,  Emory University, Longwood College, Monarch Bank, Towne Bank, AAA and Coldwell Banker.

Juried Exhibitions She was the first Virginian elected to the Pastel Society of America. Dorothy’s paintings have been included in juried exhibitions there and at the Pastel Society of Canada, The National Arts Club, American Artists Professional League, G. V. W. Smith Art Museum, the Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Virginia Contemporary Museum of Art, Salmagundi Club, the Copley Society, Kansas Pastel Society, the Hermitage Museum, New Jersey Institute of Technology and others.

PUBLICATIONS
Featured on PBS Special, The Paradise City Collection; WGBY, Massachusetts, C2005, 2006
The Ping Journal, c2008
Dinner with the Muse, c2008
The Suncatcher,  c 2008   
The Seeds of Wisdom,  C2007
Garden of the Heart,  C2007
The Conservation Series C2005
Joan Cawley Collection,  C2001
The Spirit Mother Cookbook, C1997

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Pastel Society of America; first Virginian elected, full member since 1979

Education
Ten-year mentorship in American Impressionist and Luminist Painting, 1979 - 1989, with Robert B. Mayo, curator Valentine Museum and Gallery Mayo, Richmond, VA. Mr. Mayo guided Fagan in the painting lessons of Elliot Clark, Martin J. Heade, Walter Metcalf, George Inness, Claude Monet and to look within herself for her own vision and unique style in relation to the paintings of the Masters.

BFA, 1974, East Carolina University, Printmaking, Painting

AWARDS
President’s Award of Excellence, The Williamsburg Land Conservancy, Williamsburg, VA for her work in creating The Conservation Series
Medal of Honor for Pastel by Academic Artists’ Association, G. V. W. Smith Museum of Art, Springfield, MA
Best in Show, Virginia Contemporary Museum of Art, Virginia Beach, VA
Purchase Award, Pastel Society of Kansas, Wichita, KS

MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS
Selected for National Juried Exhibitions at:
Pastel Society of Canada, Cambrian Rose Gallery, Ottawa
Pastel Society of America, National Arts Club, NYC;
Pastel Society of America, Hermitage Museum, Norfolk, VA;
Pastel Society of America, NJ Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ
Pastel Society of Kansas, Wichita, KS
G. V. W. Smith Museum of Art, Springfield, MA
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA
Knickerbocker Artists, National Arts Club, New York City
Salmagundi Club, New York City
The Copley Society, Boston, MA
American Artists’ Professional League, National Arts Club, New York City
Virginia Contemporary Museum of Art, Virginia Beach, VA
Walter Cecil Rawls Museum of Art, Courtland. VA

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Commissioned by
Union Camp Corporation for Forestry Division
TAM Associates for The Landing Wellness Center
CELEBRITY COLLECTIONS
Mr. & Mrs. David Baldacci
Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth Star
PUBLIC CORPORATIONS
General Electric
International Paper
AAA
Towers Perrin
Wintergreen Resort
Coldwell Banker
North American Marketing
Roanoke Athletic Club
UNIVERSITIES
City University of New York
Emory University
Longwood College
Paul D. Camp College
MUNICIPALITIES/HEALTHCARE
City of Franklin
Southampton Memorial Hospital
The Village at Woods Edge
The Wellness Center at The Landing
BANKS
Colonial American National Bank
First National Exchange Bank
Bronco Federal Credit Union
Monarch Bank
Towne Bank

Solo Exhibitions
Nansemond Suffolk Academy, Honorary Chairman, 2009
JSL Fine Art, Newport News, VA 2007
Century Gallery, affiliate Virginia Museum, Williamsburg, VA 2006
Morning Glory Gallery, Gloucester, VA, 2005, 2003;
Hang it Up Gallery, Yorktown, Virginia, 2005, 2004
Artworks Gallery, Norfolk, Virginia, 2003
Gallery Mayo, Richmond, Virginia, 1980, 1983, 1986
XX Century Gallery, Williamsburg, VA, 1981;
The Dorsey Gallery, Roanoke, VA, 1979
Virginia Contemporary Museum of Art, Virginia Beach, VA, 1978

VOLUNTEER POSITIONS
The Williamsburg Land Conservancy; Board of Directors, 2007 -present
Middle Peninsula Business Development Partnership; Board of Directors, 2004 -present

BUSINESS
Dorothy Fagan, Inc. 1975 - present, Cobbs, Creek, Virginia
Baker University, 2008, Developed online Creativity Program
Fagan Design Concepts, Inc, 1983 - 1997, Norfolk, Virginia
Owned and operated Graphic Art & Consulting Business; graphic art, illustration, publications management,
writing & editing, communication consulting  Partial client list; Union Camp, Virginia Natural Gas, Old Dominion  University, American Red Cross, Chrysler Museum, Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters
Fagan Studios, 1982 - 1989, Franklin, Virginia, Owned & Operated Retail Art & Custom Framing Gallery
P. D. Camp Community College, 1978 - 1981, Franklin, Virginia, Taught painting, drawing & art history
W. C. Rawls Museum, 1975 - 1978, Courtland, Virginia, Taught painting

Twin Souls reunited from lives past inspire each other in creating transformational art.

I met Jim on my birthday in 1990. He stepped on my toe at a crowded night club. When he said his name was Jim and that he was a silversmith, I could feel his hands molding the metal with great care. Even his name felt as familiar as family ~ my brother was Jim, my sister had married a Jim, my first love had been a Jim. I opened my heart and eyes and listened intently.

One evening when we were first dating, he took me to dinner at a local bistro. Sitting at the table in the middle of the tiny dining room, we chatted over a glass of wine. “Your paintings are your search for the peace which has been missing in your life,” he said as if it were obvious to everyone in the room.  Stunned, tears ran down my face. I felt suddenly exposed! “How could he see such a thing?” I thought as I mentally flipped through a lifetime of paintings in my mind’s eye.

Well . . . There are no accidents in life. Divine Twin Souls are here to help each other. And in the doing of such selfless acts of love, fulfill themselves in the process. Turns out I could see right through him too. I just knew things about him, things which were as obvious to me.

Now this is where the story gets down to the nitty gritty. When I first met Jim, I had stopped painting. And he was not an artist, or so he said. He was restoring antique sterling silver ~ a craftsman he said.

For the past 18 years, we have each taken our turn reaching deep inside ourselves for each other ~ to places so deep we didn’t even know they existed. We have stood by each other and faced down our own demons in the process. Because of him, I am painting. AND because of me, he sculpts. Neither would exist without the other. Both of us would have died long ago, were it not for this miracle of faith in each other.

You can see the evidence of this in our art. There are no words which can express it as well. My paintings and his sculpture are a manifestation of the feelings we have experienced along our path of healing these deep emotional places which we brought with us from lives past. Our understanding of what those might have been is not so important as the process itself ~ and the power of sharing our transformational art together.

We have come to understand and accept our roles for each other and for everyone who is touched by what we create. Cognitive understanding is a fleeting thing. However, the peace created in sharing ourselves in this way ~ is transformational and eternal.