"Patsy Arrington Dorsett is truly a gifted artist.  She has the unique ability to capture the elusive human quality known as spirit.  Because of this, there is a vitality to her work that is so essential in fine portraiture.  This rare ability to unite image and spirit is what distinguishes her work and sets her apart from the ordinary."

~~John de la Vega

Distinguished Portrait Painter & Teacher, Composer, Poet, Writer, Director

Kitty Hawk, NC

Patsy began her art education in 1972 at Virginia Western Community College in Roanoke where she studied graphic arts, drawing, and painting with renowned artists:  John Brust, Myron Brody, and Ruth Hamilton to receive her Associate in Applied Science Degree in Commercial Art.  After working in the Commercial Art field for several years, Dorsett's love for people and painting caused her to change her concentration to mainly portraiture in 1982.  After studying Painting the Head in Oil by John Howard Sanden "the best known name in contemporary American portraiture" and the founder of the Portrait Institute, Patsy's portraits changed.   By learning Sanden's techniques for mixing the different flesh tones for each plane of the head, this solved many of her color procedure and mixing problems.  In 1985, after reading John Howard Sanden's second book Successful Portrait Painting, she gained confidence to organize and pursue her portrait business.

Dorsett continued to paint commissions in acrylic for 6 years using Sanden's technical mixtures but not oils.  After a time of frustration in 1988, as she strived to become a better portrait artist, Patsy changed to the preferred medium of oils for her paintings.  They took on a new life, so real, that they could almost breathe and speak and began to emphasize light, likeness, and personality.  Patsy Arrington Dorsett has since studied many international portrait artists to sharpen and grow a superior level of performance in her art, including Raymond Everett Kinstler, Daniel Greene, and Burton Silverman.  She has attended workshops with John de la Vega, a distinguished portrait painter and teacher.  In one critique of her work de la Vega said "Patsy Arrington Dorsett is truly a gifted artist.  She has the unique ability to capture the elusive human quality known as spirit.  Because of this, there is a vitality to her work that is so essential in fine portraiture.  This rare ability to unite image and spirit is what distinguishes her work and sets her apart from the ordinary."   With great skill and precision she paints in oil the beauty of the human form.  Meticulous attention is paid to facial detail, clothing, jewelry and personal possessions of the subject.

"Creating a portrait is a special interaction between the artist and subject.  My passion is to paint this generation for generations to come, and to seize what is often held in the 'minds eye' so as not to be lost forever" says Dorsett.  Since 1985, Patsy has worked full time as a portrait artist and private teacher out of her Vinton studio.

Since joining The Portrait Society of America in 1999, Patsy Arrington Dorsett has had the opportunity to study with a renowned faculty of artists that share their passion and expertise and offer numerous educational programs.  Broadening her talent has led her to more corporate and private commissions.  Her work hangs in public and private collections locally, and throughout the region, along the East Coast, Midwest, Germany and Korea.

Patsy Arrington Dorsett specializes in family and corporate fine art portraiture by commission.

Member of:

The Portrait Society of America

Cecilia Beaux Forum

The Arts Council of the Blue Ridge