DWAL offers creative avenue for area artists

They come in all talent ranges. They work in a variety of media. They are in all stages of life. While they may differ in a variety of ways, they all have one thing in common - a passion for art. Combined, they form the Dothan Wiregrass Art League, which is housed in the Cultural Arts Center on South St. Andrews Street.

The DWAL’s mission is to promote the visual arts - whether the medium chosen is painting, sculpture or photography. For a fee of $25 annually, members enjoy a wide range of benefits. Among them are monthly meetings where members are encouraged to bring a piece of their art for discussion. Members also have access to the studio in Room 211 of the Cultural Arts Center. Art supplies, available at reasonable prices, are available in the DWAL supply store.

Most of all, members are exposed to artists of all skill levels and also have access to quality art instruction at reasonable rates.

Paula Grissett, of Ozark, is one of several art instructors who provide quality instruction through the DWAL. You could say art was in her blood.

“My sisters, well, I grew up with them drawing and painting,” Grissett, 61, said as she explained her early introduction to art. “My mother also loved art. She didn’t paint, but she appreciated it.”

The family influence does not stop there.

“My dad was a draftsman,” Grissett continued. “I watched him quite a bit.”

The artist flame was lit.

“From about the time that I was eight years old I would draw every day,” Grissett added.

Her love of art, and of painting in particular, took root when she attended Wallace Community College.

“That’s when I started entering arts shows at festivals on the weekends,” Grissett said. “Early on, I would do portraits. I was a sketch artist.”

Grissett says she works each day to improve her skills. She also shares her knowledge by teaching art classes for the DWAL.

“I started teaching classes when the DWAL met in Northside Mall,” Grissett said. “I’ve been at the Cultural Arts Center for about a year and half.”

Virginia Thompson and Jackie Cole have taken advantage of Grissett’s knowledge to expand their skills.
Mrs. Thompson, 72, a resident of the Sylvan Grove community, readily admits she is a self-taught artist. But she values the help Grissett has provided in improving her skill level.

“I didn’t have art training in school simply because we didn’t have it,” Mrs. Thompson said.

That lack of formal training didn’t keep her from testing the art waters.

“I came across a magazine that had a drawing contest in it,” Mrs. Thompson said as she reflected on her early introduction to art. “I got a pretty decent score on it. I thought I’d try to do what I could on my own.”

A visit to a local store got her pointed in the right direction.

“I went to Woolco looking at art supplies,” Mrs. Thompson said. “A young man, an employee, asked if he could help me. He also told me about a young artist, Jeannie Maddox, who did some complimentary classes. He signed me up for them. That was my first class. I took five complimentary classes.”

She also studied on her own by using Walter Foster books. She also took one quarter of art at Wallace Community College.

“I’m primarily self-taught, but I have taken lessons from Paula and also with Sam Lightsey when he taught here,” Mrs. Thompson added.

Thompson has been involved with the DWAL since the mid 1970s and participates in the Expressions Art Show held in the fall and the Local Color Art Show in the spring.

While her favorite medium is oil, Thompson says acrylic works best for her.

“I work a lot in acrylic, because of the drying time,” Mrs. Thompson said. “But, my favorite medium is still oil.”
Landscapes are her favorite subject.

“Everything I see, I want to paint,” Mrs. Thompson added. “I’ve done some old family homes in the past.”

Unfortunately, time restraints keep Mrs. Thompson from pursuing her artistic passion full time.

“I still work,” said Mrs. Thompson, who does bookkeeping for Thompson Auto Service. “I also do some grandmothering.

“I paint when I come to class. We also fellowship and learn while we are in class, which I enjoy.”

Jackie Cole, 65, says life’s responsibilities kept her from pursuing art as a career. But, she is making up for lost time through her membership in the DWAL.

“When I started college, about 10 years after I finished high school and after I had three kids, I needed an elective,” Ms. Cole said. “I took an art class at Enterprise State Junior College. That class started it. I was hooked.

“My husband was military, so we moved a lot. I took classes wherever we went. I dabbled in every medium and mastered none.”

By then, her fourth child had also been born.

“I didn’t have a lot of time for art by then,” said Ms. Cole, who loves to work in acrylic and watercolor.
“I like a lot of variety,” Ms. Cole continued. “I’ve painted animals, but I really like painting flowers.”

Ms. Cole says she didn’t get serious about polishing her artistic skills until recently.

“I moved to Dothan about seven years ago,” said the Geneva native. “I really got serious about painting when I got involved with the Taylor Senior Center.”

And then she joined the Dothan Wiregrass Art League, and, she says, her horizons have expanded.

All three artists agree that membership in the Dothan Wiregrass Art League would be beneficial for artists of any skill level.

“Those interested in art should join the Art League,” Mrs. Thompson said. “We have good teachers here. We are an organization for those who have never picked up a paint brush to professional artists. We give each other moral support. And, we are all still learning.”

For more information about the Dothan Wiregrass Art League, call 792-9655 or 699-ARTS.
(Elaine Brackin is managing editor of The Dothan Progress.)