Ramona Dooley as seen on Television's "Life in the Arts" showing her Paintings With a Heartbeat and You Tube Videos, was broadcast on AMP (Access Monterey Peninsula) which is a cable public access channel.

Longtimers Productions "Life in the Arts" featuring Ramona Dooley will broadcast again in the fall of 2011.

Essentially self-taught, I have been painting and exhibiting since 1971. In 1993 I met John Stobart, a world renowned marine artist. I asked him how I could be a better artist. His advice was to paint on site.

My first plein air painting was difficult - it was an exhausting three-hour session each day for four days but I have been painting plein air since then and enjoying every minute of it. I believe John's advice was the biggest positive influence on my painting career.

I feel compelled to encourage aspiring artists to paint plein air as I am convinced nature is your best teacher. So in 2008 I started to do plein air demo videos that you can view for free on my channel.

I work with a limited palette using Winsor Newton or Lukas Berlin water mixable oils using from 3 to no more than 6 colors. I paint wet into wet, completing most paintings in one session. Sometimes I paint boldly without any preliminary sketch. And to squeeeeze in more time to paint, I often paint on my lunch hour at work.

God has surrounded us with beauty - a leaf on a tree is simply magnificent. If you paint "from life" indoors or outdoors you will learn how to paint. They say practice makes perfect but no one on earth is perfect so have fun painting, and don't worry about making mistakes -

Juried Member of the Salmagundi Club (NYC); Oil Painters of America; and American Impressionist Society.