Classically trained painter Dot Renshaw has been painting for over 40 years in oils, soft pastels, and watercolors.  She has received over forty first and Best of Show awards in her art.  She has been an outdoor enthusiast her whole life focusing on back roads and seeking out untouched natural scenes.  Dot concentrates on depicting the immediate emotional reaction she feels when she arrive to paint such as the effect of the wind, the warmth of the early morning breaking sun, the high surf, the personality of the model, or the serenity of the moment.  She works primarily from life whether if be scenery or figures.  Dot focuses on the cool and warm interplay of the lights and shadows of the scene and many times paints a "pintura"-compleementary color wash under her pastels or oil paintings to bring  out luminosity and atmosphere.

Thirty two years Dot taught high school drawing and painting  in San Diego County as well as exhibit her art.  She  now paints full time and also gives critiques, demonstrations, and classes, as well as  selling and exhibiting her work nationally.   Dot's favorite artist are the early California Plein Air Masters as well as Vermeer for mastery of lighting, Sorolla for expressive loose brush strokes, and Hopper for complex personalities he brought fort in his figures.