In the beginning it's the color.  Beautiful, large, flat, areas of hues that sooth the imagination stretching from edge to edge of her sizeable canvases.  Discerning the more central amoeboid shape/s shimmering in a closely related vastness, one becomes cognizant of the peripheral stealth-like appearances of color moving around and towards the heart of the painting. 

 

These works belie their simplicity.  The combination of color, the edges and placement of shapes on each work's surface is well thought out.  Its complexity defies the simplicity Dorothy Fratt has instilled within the soul of her work. 

 

There are few who could match the artist in terms of her color knowledge as illustrated with her working with me in the printing studio.  To duplicate a very specific hue without formula was an easy task for her.  In addition, Dorothy possessed an innate sense of color juxtaposition and balance.  She proves herself worthy, over and over again, of recognition as one of the true original color field artists.  The size, shape and edges of each configuration is well thought out and intentional.  Over and over again, Fratt illustrated the importance to her and thus the importance to her work, the utter necessity to establish the perfect placement of the color, balance, size and compositional shape for unification.  The edges of each element were always equally important to all other considerations.  These are meditative works by nature and should be enjoyed as such.  Some will appear more playful while others present a more somber, if not foreboding, quality.