About
Visual Artist • Photographer • Poet • Dancer • Community Advocate
Dolores Williams Bumbrey is a visual artist based in Fredericksburg, Virginia, whose colorful paintings reflect her Southern and faith-based background, capturing the calmness of nature and the peace found in landscapes.
As a child, Dolores showed innate talent in drawing and painting. Influenced by Bob Ross, she developed a passion for creativity and landscape art. She states, "I want my work to provide a temporary calmness and escape to the viewer in a world full of chaos. Before I paint, I always pray that my work will give individuals a sense of peaceful tranquility."
Dolores excels in oil and acrylic painting and graphite pencil drawing. She was featured in Suzanne S. Youngkin, First Lady of Virginia's, Sisterhood Spotlight in 2022. She is a member of the Fredericksburg Center for Creative Arts (FCCA), the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and Canal Quarter Arts.
In addition to her work as a visual artist, Dolores is also a photographer, poet, and dancer, whose creative work reflects themes of faith, perseverance, family, history, community, and hope.
Earlier in her career, Dolores worked at the CIA before returning fully to her artistic calling. She was first commissioned by the late Major Dorothy Bittenger to paint the founder of the Salvation Army, William Booth, and later completed a portrait of former Fredericksburg Mayor Davies.
Selected Accomplishments
- The first Black female visual artist from Fredericksburg, Virginia, to have artwork displayed in the Virginia Governor's Executive Mansion (2024–2025)
- Featured in the Former First Lady of Virginia's Sisterhood Spotlight
- Featured visual artist in the Fredericksburg Area Museum's historic SEEN Exhibition
- Featured visual artist in the Central Rappahannock Regional Library's Poetry Meets Art Exhibition, where Poet Laureate Kim B. Miller presented original poetry inspired by her work
- Artwork included in public exhibitions and private collections throughout Virginia
- Community advocate supporting food distribution, outreach initiatives, and assistance for individuals experiencing homelessness
- Founder and organizer of a winter care package outreach project benefiting the Fredericksburg community through Micah Ministries
Artist Statement
For me, painting is more than creating images—it is creating an experience. I paint because I want people to feel the same peace, serenity, and sense of escape that I feel while creating. Before every painting, I pray and ask God to guide my hands. My goal is to create artwork that calms anxiety, lifts burdens, and reminds people that beauty, hope, and peace still exist in the world.
My faith is at the center of my creative process. It is through that faith that I seek inspiration, direction, and purpose, and it is my prayer that each piece will touch the hearts of others.
When I paint, the noise of the world fades away, and moments of calm, reflection, and beauty emerge. My greatest hope is that those who view my work experience that same feeling.
I want my paintings to offer a moment of rest, a breath of fresh air, and a temporary refuge from the stresses, worries, and anxieties that so many people carry. Whether through color, light, movement, or subject matter, my goal is to evoke feelings of peace, comfort, hope, and wonder.
If someone stands before one of my paintings and feels calmer, encouraged, inspired, or simply transported for a moment to a place of beauty and tranquility, then I have accomplished what I set out to do.
My artwork is a reflection of faith, gratitude, and the belief that beauty has the power to heal, uplift, and connect us. It is my prayer that every piece I create leaves the viewer with a sense of peace and reminds them that even in the midst of life's challenges, moments of grace and serenity can still be found.
— Dolores Williams Bumbrey, Visual Artist
Achievements & Exhibitions
Bumbrey has participated in solo and group exhibitions in Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Colonial Beach, Virginia, including Chroma International's exhibition at Pepco Edison Place Gallery in Washington, D.C., and the Fredericksburg Fine Art exhibitions and FCCA.
Her work can be found at the Darbytown Art Studio and Gallery, on Fine Art America, and in numerous private collections, churches, businesses, and at Mary Washington Hospital.
Dolores has made history as a trailblazer for women and Black artists in both the Fredericksburg and Richmond arts communities. In February 2023, she was one of the first Black female artists from Fredericksburg selected for FCCA's Celebrating Black Artists exhibit. That same year, she was featured in the Fredericksburg Area Museum's (FAM) landmark exhibition, SEEN: Viewing the Work of African-American Artists in Fredericksburg, Virginia (March 2023–February 2024) — one of the first major museum exhibitions in the region dedicated exclusively to showcasing African American artists with ties to Fredericksburg and the surrounding communities.
Her achievements reached the state level in 2024, when Dolores became the first Black female artist from Fredericksburg, Virginia, to have her work selected and placed in the Ladies' Parlor of the Virginia Governor's Executive Mansion, where it was displayed from August 19, 2024, through September 1, 2025 — a milestone that also marked a meaningful contribution to the visibility of African American visual artists in Virginia. This history-making moment was covered by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, The Free Lance-Star, and The Fredericksburg Advance, and was featured directly on former First Lady Suzanne Youngkin's official website and social media channels.
Dolores currently has a diorama on a three-year loan as part of the Fredericksburg Area Museum's ongoing exhibit, Living Legacies: African American History in the Fredericksburg Area and A Place in History. Her work can also be seen regularly at the Central Park Town Center, the Central Rappahannock Regional Library, and the Verge Expert Food Co-op, and she maintains an evolving resident display at Canal Quarter that changes frequently.
Her work has also been recognized through philanthropy: one of her paintings was auctioned at the Friends of Chatham/Spring Gala and Art Auction, where it was purchased by the President of Friends of Chatham.
She is honored to be the first African American female visual artist interviewed and featured in the First Lady of Virginia's Sisterhood Spotlight, which highlighted women making meaningful contributions through leadership, creativity, and service within their communities.
Community Impact
Beyond the arts, Dolores has dedicated herself to serving others through community outreach, food distribution efforts, and volunteer initiatives supporting individuals experiencing homelessness.
Most notably, she independently organized a winter outreach project through Micah Ministries in Fredericksburg — personally collecting, assembling, and distributing care packages filled with essential cold-weather items for those in need throughout the coldest months of the year.
As a visual artist and community advocate, Dolores believes that creativity and service are inseparable. Her work seeks not only to create beauty but also to inspire, uplift, preserve stories, and strengthen connections within the community.
Today, her artwork continues to be exhibited and collected, reflecting a legacy of artistic achievement, cultural contribution, and service to others.