Artist Profile: Dixie Mohan

Although Dixie Mohan has an art history degree from the UC Berkeley, she learned to paint while living in Western Australia when her husband took a job there. It was a three year break from her job as a middle-school science and art teacher. “Art and science are all about observation... about asking imaginative questions,” says Mohan.

As a textile artist, Mohan wove tapestries and moved on to quilts when she had children. It wasn't until eight years ago, that she got into oil painting. Mohan bought a painting by Benicia plein air artist Jerrold Turner twenty years ago, not knowing anything about him. She later found out that Turner taught classes at , so Mohan began oil painting classes.

“I've always been drawn to oils, the richness of the surface, expressiveness of how the brush works, it's like working in butter or frosting,” Mohan explains. “There is a richness to the color, you can get depth and be brash yet also be really soft. I like the way it reflects light. It's a wonderful medium.”

Although she has tried other mediums, Mohan plans to to stay with oils. “The more you paint with oils, the more you explore the medium and the less you realize you know.” says Mohan. “There is so much to explore. I think I could spend the rest of my life working in oils.”

Inspiration comes from early California plein air painters. “I like artists who are not static, who don't paint the same kind of painting their entire career.” Mohan also admires instructors Randall Sexton, Nikki Basch Davis, Jody Mattison and of course, Turner. “Jerrold Turner is a very mature artist, he only needs to put a few strokes on , he can express a mood. Artists like that inspire me.” Turner has also been an influential mentor, “He can look at a piece and just suggest one little nuance, like adding purple.”

Mohan regularly paints with the , also known as Da Group because of it's non-competitive, non-judgemental and encouraging nature. “Its more like a support group,” says Mohan. “Having that kind of constructive criticism is good, it's trying to help a person have a successful painting.”

Favorite subjects range from scenes on the strait to alleys in Benicia, but Mohan loves painting at Larry's Produce farm in Suisun. “It's a fun place to paint because there is a lot of energy there, people buying buckets and wheelbarrows of produce,” says Mohan. “The farm landscapes are surrounded by vineyards. There's also a very human energy going on.”

Since her three children are now grown, Mohan turned her kids' bedroom into her studio where she finishes her paintings. Most of her work is done outside on location.

This month, Mohan is the featured artist at the . The public is invited to  a free for Mohan on Saturday, March 5 from 5 to 7 pm.