Dodson Returns To The Master's Medium

Tuesday, August 29, 2000
By Jim Ashley

"Pa Pa's Farm Wagon" ($7,500) by Larry Dodson

When Larry Dodson leaves this world someday to collect his heavenly reward, he will leave behind a treasure-trove of wildlife and landscape paintings to fight over for those who are left behind.

No, the nationally and internationally known watercolor artist is not planning to board the glory train anytime soon; the Trenton, Ga., resident has switched from watercolors to oils and plans to paint til the cows come home.
Today, in perfect health and painting better than ever, Mr. Dodson is not trying to reinvent himself. He is working relentless hours re-establishing himself as one of the mid South’s most skilled and popular artists.

Back in the 1970s and ‘80s, the artist’s name was right up there in the public eye with Ben Hampton (now deceased) on the local and national art scene.

With Mr. Hampton leading the way, the two close friends and co-workers at Vandsco Advertisers in Chattanooga had become household names locally via marketing limited edition prints of their original watercolor paintings.

Artist Larry Dodson displays one of his latest oil paintings, "Autumn Chill."

Mr. Dodson’s first limited-edition prints were of a painting he titled “Springtime in Ellijay” (1975). The public’s response was overwhelming. He sold every one of the 1,000 signed and numbered prints and 100 artist proofs in only a few months. That was followed by “Curing Barn,” “Mountain View Road” and “Misty Summer,” all printed in 1976, and all sold out.

The overwhelming success of the venture prompted the artist to do limited-edition prints of four more paintings during 1977. Again, all sold out.

Over the years that followed, Mr. Dodson, a native of the Scratch Ankle community on Sand Mountain, produced 70 original paintings and limited-edition prints of each of them. Fourteen limited editions sold out, and many others came close to being sold out. “Southern Autumn” became an official 1989 Alabama Runion print.

By this time, the artist’s prints were being marketed at 510 art dealers in 47 states.

By the 1990s, however, there were so many artists making limited-edition prints of their originals (the good, the bad and the ugly) that the market became flooded, and public interest began to wane.

As a result, Mr. Dodson spent much of the ‘90s building and overseeing a golf course in Dade County. And in the process, he let his name and art fade in the public eye.

By the late ‘90s, however, the artist saw the err of his ways and began investing all of his time painting – this time in the same medium of the masters – oils.

Mr. Dodson, a Trenton, Ga., resident who “never took an art lesson,” said he worked in oils until 1972, when he switched to the less-forgiving but then popular watercolor medium. Thus, switching back was no problem when he decided to make the change in 1998.

“Today, people want colors,” the 57-year-old artist observed, explaining that oils are more brilliant, offer greater variety of colors, are easier to work with and are more durable.

Since the switch, Mr. Dodson has produced several oil paintings, including an uncharacteristic cottage in England.

He said he has no plans to reproduce any of his recent oil paintings via limited-edition prints because he still has thousands of prints of previous watercolor paintings in storage. He would not, however, rule out the possibility of making prints of an oil painting down the road.

Painting and selling original oils is his focus now, he stressed, noting that numerous investors have purchased them at prices ranging from $3,500 to $9,500.

And, as with many of his prints, their value has steadily increased.