Katie Dobson Cundiff  acquired an early appreciation for the fine arts of drawing, and painting, under the tutelage of her father, Steven Gaston Dobson, an accomplished Chicago Illustrator.  Her early works earned awards, including a full scholarship in 1968 to the famed Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida.  She has resided in Sarasota, Florida since graduating with honors from Ringling in 1971.

In 2004, the Museum of Florida Art and Culture displayed her work in a solo exhibition, "Painting Paradise"- Florida Landscapes at the Turn of the 21st Century. Painting almost exclusively from life or "en plein air", Katie Cundiff has won awards in many of the most respected Florida plein air paint outs.

She is an associate member of the Oil Painters of America and American Women Artists, and is a signature member of Plein Air Florida. Her work has been exhibited in the national exhibitions of all these prestigious organizations. Currently, Katie Dobson Cundiff is represented by
M Gallery of Fine Art in Sarasota, Florida and Corse Gallery and Atelier in Jacksonville, Florida.  She teaches landscape painting through The Southern Atelier in Sarasota, Florida.

Our juror has traveled and painted throughout Spain and France . . . and her work can be found in private collections abroad, as well as in the US. She brings a hands-on knowledge, as a painter . . .  and an art-historical eye, to her job as juror of the Out & About Norfolk Plein Air Paint Out.

         I am primarily a landscape artist, although I enjoy painting many different subjects including portraits, people, animals, still life, and urban scenes.  I think my work differs from that of other artists because of the instruction I received from my father. As a young child, I loved to sit and watch him work on his illustrations, and I would often pose for him.  He encouraged me to look through his art books and by the time I was a teenager, we would discuss the work of artists, such as Degas, Lautrec, Sargent, Sorolla, and Zorn (to name a few). Visits to the Art Institute introduced me to the world's great art and the artists we had read about.  Much to my father's dismay, I put my own desire to become a painter aside for many years, when I got married and started a family.  Fortunately, my dad was still around when I took my paintbox out of the closet and resumed painting. We had several wonderful years of painting together, and discussing all our favorite artists, before he passed away.  I feel very lucky to have had such a wonderful teacher. 

Katie Dobson Cundiff  -  http://www.dobsonart.com/