DuBois, who is originally from Marshalltown and graduated from MHS in 1966, has done many different things in his life, from teaching, to being a captain in the U.S. Navy, to being a defense contractor, but somehow, he never imagined himself as an artist. That is, until he began planning for retirement in 2014. DuBois, now residing in Manassas, Va., realized that he wasn’t sure what he would be doing with his free time.

“As my retirement came up, I realized that I didn’t have any hobbies. So I went down to our local art center and just, on a whim, took some introductory art classes, and happened to connect with a lady who gave painting lessons,” DuBois said.

After about five years of painting lessons, DuBois struck out on his own and he said oil painting has since become his obsession. At any given time, Dubois said he has about four or five paintings in progress, and his works have been featured in many local and regional contests. He also has them hanging in collections across eight different states.

As DuBois learned how to paint, he also picked up other artistic skills, like photography. DuBois often captures scenes with a camera so that he can later use those photos as references for paintings. He considers photography a tool, a first step towards completing an oil painting.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO —Marshalltown native Dennis DuBois took this photo in the Alfama District of Lisbon, Portugal, this summer. He submitted it to the Washington Post 2022 Travel Photo Contest and was one of the 10 Honorable Mentions. There were three winners and nearly 1,100 artists submitted photos.

“When I use a camera to take a picture of a scene, or a person, a figure, or whatever, I’m trying to compose that in the viewfinder close to the way that I want to paint it. So composing a picture in a viewfinder and composing a painting on canvas, one just flows from the other,” DuBois said.

While he considers himself first and foremost a painter, after capturing a photo in the Alfama District of Lisbon, Portugal last summer, DuBois decided to try his luck with the Washington Post 2022 Travel Photo Contest.

The photo, captured on a Nikon Coolpix camera, features a worn blue door set against a rocky wall, and this photo earned an honorable mention in the photo contest. Nearly 1,100 artists submitted photos for consideration, and from those artists there were three winners and 10 honorable mentions.

“I had this beautiful photograph, and I saw in the Post that they were having this contest, so I thought ‘Well, there’s nothing to lose there,’ so I submitted it. I surprised myself,” DuBois said. “To be among ten honorable mentions out of 1,100 is pretty exciting.”

Though photography gets the ball rolling, DuBois’s favorite part of the creative process is painting itself, and being able to use the techniques he learns to create a piece of art.

He particularly enjoys painting people and figures, the people passed by without a second glance. A troubadour in a café, a lonely fisherman, a silent beggar and many others have all been featured in his paintings, and the feelings they evoke are what make those subjects special to DuBois.

“It’s emotion. I stop and I try to talk with these people. I don’t just take their picture and walk off. So, I talk with them. Sometimes, that’s really what they want. They just want someone to talk with, someone to take notice of them,” he said.

DuBois said he never imagined he would be pursuing art in his retirement after being in the Navy and then working as a defense contractor since 2000, but it was a welcome change.

“Part of what made that decision easy was that I wanted to do something that was as remotely different from what I had been doing for 40 years, and, you know, paint and art is a whole lot different than doing Navy intelligence or intelligence related work,” DuBois said.

While art is his personal passion, DuBois also does commissions, and samples of his work can be found at https://www.dennisduboisart.com/.

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Contact Susanna Meyerat 641-753-6611 ext.

smeyer@timesrepublican.com.