Artist Profile: Pam Dixon

Pam Dixon grew up in the art communities of San Francisco, Carmel, Long Island, Malibu and the Florida Keys.

She's been in Benicia since 1970 and has been a downtown business owner for decades. Beyond that, Dixon has had multiple lives. She's worked as a model and illustrator and in engineering as a draftswoman doing electric schematics for BART in San Francisco.

Although she's had no formal art education, Dixon has been making art her whole life. She learned drawing and sculpture from working with artists throughout her life.

In years past, she's done bronze pours at a foundry in the industrial park. Dixon became inspired to paint while visiting Paris in the 1980s. “I didn't realize that I was qualified to be a painter until I saw what they were doing there,” she says. 

These days, Dixon works in mixed media, ink and acrylic on large panels. Some of her triptychs are as large as 14 feet by 5 feet. She likes to paint with her hands and to build texture with pieces of paper and mixed media. Dixon's distinct style is playful with a French influence. 

"I am really having fun," she says. "My life is in the arts." Dixon is working to create a downtown art venue for local artists. She also writes poetry, loves to read and spends time with her beau, Manuel Neri, a renowned Benicia artist.

location: 623 1/2 First St.