Alpha Rho

Yellow-Orange is the background for my dot painting below. The dots are high key making the design rather subtle. Therefore viewing from across the room might prove more difficult. Still I’m please with my pastel colors.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Alpha Pi

Well, I hadn’t done a green one in a while, so here it goes. I started with four circles and then made them part of an “X.” Between the green and the circles I thought about aliens. Hey, I’m just making a pattern and generic name. I’m not limiting this work to say it is simply an alien. OK, now it’s your turn.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Alpha Omicron

So back to a purple background I went. After going round and round deciding which pattern to use, I chose a flower design, of sorts. I wouldn’t want to lock it in specifically, however. Viewers just might find something else in it. Anyway, I was tickled with my color transitions. My painting did become a bit complex.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Alpha Xi

In response to recent visits to family friends’ homes, I decided to play with a combination of browns, reds and oranges in a dot painting. I knew I wanted an undulating curve pattern. However, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I finished. Luckily for me, being intuitive worked. This one excited me.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Alpha Nu

Again I chose a variation of red for my background. On top I added bright green dots to form a cross with small points jutting out. Blending colors as I worked to the center and then the edges of the canvas, I developed contrasting gradations. The cross was just a shape to use this time around.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Alpha Mu

The round shapes I used in Alpha Iota encouraged me to paint more round shapes in this painting. Again, using a yellow background proved to be a tricky. I went with contrasting dark complementary colors in order to tame it. I included fewer round shapes this go-round.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Alpha Lambda

On top of a red background I started with a plus sign made up of yellow dots. From there, all I did was add more dots as I created a transition of colors on the color wheel. While working on the painting, I did not concern myself with strict straight rows or consistent dot sizes. I figured it was a more interesting to paint my dots.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

More Alpha Series Designs!

As I finish my dot paintings I continue to play with design ideas. Some sketches work out better than others. You’ll recognize a few I’ve used already. Anyway, here is my third page of thumbnail drawings.

Just Add Circles

Recently I was forced to put aside my current series of acrylic paintings to complete some other works for a show that hangs in August. It took me a while to generate ideas for my new pieces. In general they all have to do with my current experiences online. Since one of them included dots, I thought I would share it here on this blog.


graphite on paper

The title “Just Add Circles” is my reaction to a recent online design trend that includes groupings of concentric circles as a pattern. Anyway, I played with circles inside circles, but I made it my own. Also, I drew vertical lines to break up my shapes as a positive/negative space game – if you will. I rendered the piece with graphite on Reeves BFK paper. It is a rag paper that can take a lot of abuse.

Alpha Kappa

Heading back to a blue background I went a little darker with my dots. I used a lot of reds and oranges. I started with an “x” in the middle and added “y’s” at the four four ends of the “x.”
acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Alpha Iota

Pink was the way I began my next painting. Circles of dots dominated my design. Calm is the feeling I get when I look at the painting.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Alpha Theta

When I started painting second coats of paint on my canvases, this is the first canvas I did. The dark green I used intimidated me. So I did not add dots to it right away. Finally I gathered the courage to attack the dark green. As you can see, I managed to add some very bright colors to counteract the dark background.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Alpha Eta

Although I have been sticking to bright colors, I made one dot painting with a brown background. My challenge was to see what dot colors I could place on top of it to make it interesting. I have my color wheel that enables an artist to find complements of various colors that are light and dark. So I went to the other side of the wheel to make my choices.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Alpha Zeta

Yellow has been a difficult background color for me previously, but I liked how this one progressed. It had a similar beginning to Alpha Gamma, but then I added diagonals. I’m very happy the color blends created by the dots.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"