Dottie earned a B.S.ed. from the University of Pennsylvania, majoring in art. She married, raised a family, and was involved in everything but art for many years. Dottie was a Mental Health professional until her retirement in 1988. She had many family and community commitments that kept her busy. In 1993, time opened up and she returned to her love of art.

Largely self-taught, she took some classes at Memphis College of Art and started painting. After a cautious start, Dottie has now shown in local, regional and national, open and juried shows. She has also had several one person shows. Dottie is a member of the Memphis/Germantown Art League and Artists' Link.

Dottie makes strong use of color and sharp contrast, which are as important as the content in giving her work its impact. Her botanical and still life paintings reflect her awe of the natural world, as so her paintings of the Southwest – an inspiration since her first visit there. Her medium of choice is acrylic, although she sometimes enhances her work with the use of interesting papers, as well as silver, gold and copper leaf.