Blossonming Art Colony is Picture Perfect on Dauphin Island
Michael Baxter Marketing Consultant 4907 Shatner Houston, Texas 77066 From its white sand beaches edged by grassy dunes and gently rolling surf, to lush maritime forests and wetlands brimming with wildlife, and a laid back pace usually associated with country living, it's no surprise that Dauphin Island, Alabama has become the picture perfect home to some of the Gulf Coast's most talented artists. "My grandfather, William D. Rockwell, was a second cousin of Norman Rockwell," said Island artist Deborah Jones, "so, maybe that's where my artistic talent comes from." Before moving to the Island several years ago, Deb used to vacation on Dauphin Island with her grandparents as a child in the mid 1960s, so she grew up with a love for the island life. Though much of her work depicts Dauphin Island settings, Deb seems to favor her eye-popping images captured during frequent visits to the Caribbean and Central America. "I enjoy painting watercolors of aquatic life and beach related themes," she said. "Watercolor gives me the opportunity to explore incredible nature scenes through a smooth look in bright, vivid colors." Something that pastels just can't provide she admits. "Sometimes as residents we take this Island for granted," Deb said. "Painting helps me realize what a treasure we have here." Her work is displayed exclusively on the Island at Just For You. |
Artists sometimes come in pairs on Dauphin Island. David and Linda Miller moved to the Island from Florida in 2002. "We had been looking for a place to retire and get close to the water," said David, "and when we saw the Island we realized that this looked like Florida used to 30-years ago." Besides the small town, non-commercial appeal of the Island, Linda says that there were two other reasons for the move. "We love to paint and there are so many wonderful things to paint here," she said. "And, the artists here on the Island are a really good group of people." Though the Millers both work in watercolors, their choices in subject matter are somewhat diverse. While Linda likes to paint local critters such as birds and crabs, children at the Island's Little Red School House and things from the sea, David mainly works with older architectural structures, lighthouses and boats, and coastal scenes. "I think that the arts on Dauphin Island is certainly positive," David said. "We've never met a better group of people than we have here." "As a growing artist colony there are fledging artists on the Island and some very, very good ones, too," said Linda. "The artists and the community in general are very supportive of what we are doing here, which gives us focus." David says that it is easy to understand why so many artists are moving to the Island and making day trips to put their brush to the canvas or pen to pad. "The Island is good for artists because of our natural setting," he said. "If you just take the time to look, you can find so much beauty here." Artist Darlene Hanson had been visiting Dauphin Island since 1962 before settling there in the late 1990s. "It was the idea of painting in a small fishing village that kept bringing us back to the Island year after year," said Darlene. "Everything here is on Island time and we liked that." Whether it's a scene from the beach, the Lighthouse, or the oyster gatherers at Jemisons just off the Island, Darlene can always find a subject to capture in pastels, acrylics or watercolors. "I love to paint scenes from Jemisons where the old oyster boats are docked," she said. "You can tell that the boats have had a hard life, because many are held together with bailing wire, string and duct tape in some cases." "Other artists and I have spent so much time there painting over the years that the oyster gathers have become very protective of us," said Darlene. "They are such beautiful people." A former art teacher, Darlene was once asked by a young student if she was famous, to which another student replied, "don't be silly . . . she isn't dead yet." Darlene occasionally shows at festivals and her original works are on display at the Island's Lighthouse Bakery. |
Artist Dena McKee moved to Dauphin Island after losing her home in Moss Point, Mississippi to Hurricane Katrina. "It's funny how we were drawn to the island," said Dena. "When you come over that bridge, something happens and you just leave everything behind you." Already a popular talent throughout Mississippi, Dena has been tagged by some as a historic preservationist. Her first commercial piece was a recreation of Ed's Drive-In, a landmark in Pascagoula. Since then she has continued to capture bits of Southern lifestyle through her photography and in watercolor . . . scenes such as old school houses and churches, a county fair, the original Coca-Cola plant and Dauphin Island's beloved Sand Island Lighthouse. Dena's original art and prints are found in shops and galleries across the upper Gulf Coast and on permanent exhibit at the Pascagoula Public Library. "It's no wonder that the Island continues to attract artists," she said. "It's a magical, slow paced place that is very conducive to art. You see artists from off the Island here all the time sitting under their umbrellas and painting along the water, in the bird sanctuary, or maybe at Cadillac Square." |
Where most of Dauphin Island's artists tend to work with a brush or pen, Lawrence Trotter's tools of choice are a hatchet and a small grinding tool. Mr. Trotter, as he is known to most Islanders, has the knack for carving incredible images of local birds from scraps of wood that he finds or else wash up on the beach. "I don't really consider it much of an art, but other people apparently do," he said. "I had no experience when I started. I would just take a hatchet and a chopping block and this chair and I'd whack ‘em out!" Mr. Trotter only carves water fowl such as ducks, herons, pelicans and swans, and regularly works with live oak, cherry, black walnut, China berry, and cypress for his lifelike creations. His decoys carved from Tupelo gum are "reminiscent of those made by our forefathers", he says. A signature characteristic of Trotter's herons and other larger pieces are the solid brass tube legs. The Auburn University grad mainly exhibits at regional craft shows in Diamondhead and Ocean Springs, Mississippi, Gulf Breeze, Florida and on Dauphin Island, and rarely paints his finished works. "I'm a big believer in letting the natural beauty of the wood show through," Mr. Trotter said. "I guess that comes from the two years in college when I studied forestry . . . I can still pretty much look at a piece of wood in any condition and identify it." For years when describing Dauphin Island, phrases such as white sand beaches, world class fishing and family vacation were used, but today "art colony" is mentioned more than ever. After all, whether presented in watercolor, acrylic or ink, Dauphin Island is picture perfect. |
