Donald L. Dodrill (1922-2017), Ohio Watercolor Artist

It will soon be time for hunting season. During pheasant season, (when I was a child) my dad would take a shotgun with him to church on Sunday's just in case there was an opportunity to bring home a bird. I don't ever remember my mother cooking a pheasant, but I knew several families that would make pheasant into a delicacy, perhaps Pheasant with Orange-Saffron Sauce. Sounds like something straight out a James Beard cookbook, Right?

Donald Lawrence Dodrill's "Pheasant Season" watercolor below, seems right out of Field & Stream magazine, or perhaps an advertisement for Remington. In this late autumn scene, his color palette explodes as he paints the male ringneck pheasant escorting his hen. He captures the subtleties of light, shadows and reflection upon the snow, within the dormant grasses, shrubs and trees.

"Pheasant Season"
Watercolor
Signed Lower Right: Donald L. Dodrill

Dodrill was a watercolor aficionado, having a BFA from Ohio State University and a MFA from Syracuse. He was a signature member of the American, National, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Kentucky watercolor societies. Additionally, he authored the how-to watercolor book, "The Transparent Touch" published by Watson Guptil, NY in 1989. This book included 150 of his favorite watercolors.

Dodrill started his commercial art at Shenk Advertising in Marion, OH. He was drafted in 1942 into the US Army and was deployed to the Panama Canal Zone. It was there that he painted his first watercolor. After an honorable discharge he attended Ohio State University and graduated in 1949. With an Art Degree in hand, he launched a commercial art and advertising studio, Dodrill Design.

In the 1970s he went back to school to receive his MFA in Illustration from Syracuse University, this allowed him to teach graphic design at the university and community level. Dodrill was prolific, he painted well over 1,000 watercolors including commissions during his lifetime. His watercolors appeared on the covers of magazines, and his work is numerous private collections.

Dodrill's subject matter was diverse. It was just as common for him to paint a flower garden as hunting birds.

Example of Signature

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