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About me
When I was a very young girl, I had to be dragged out of the art classroom at school and reminded that I also needed to study maths and English!
As it turns out, I ended up studying science, discovered a passion for geology that will never wain, and had a management career in the NHS.
Then my creative side decided enough was enough and took me on an adventure. An adventure that started with silversmith lessons at the weekends in the UK and then in a workshop in stunning and life changing San Gimignano, Italy. The following year I moved to Florence to train with a Florentine goldsmith. Whom I married!
With our daughter now nearly all grown up, I picked up my pencils again. Bought some watercolours and began to teach myself how to capture what I wanted to say with this beautiful medium.
When the portrait I want to paint is drawn out in pencil in front of me and I'm ready to paint, I get butterflies and feel nervous - just as I did as a girl - that I will mess up the drawing. That maybe I should leave it as it is. The memory as a child of liking my line drawings and sketches so much more than my paintings comes back. But the moment I put the first water down around the eyes - I paint with water first and then touch in the pigments, and always start with the eyes - I am in the zone.
First. Intense concentration. Then, when the pigments start to dance and the magic begins, the smiles happen. Involuntarily and huge.
About the time the second washes are drying the feeling of concentration has gone and painting the portrait is no longer a process to follow. It becomes instinctual, driven more by what my brush wants to do than any deliberate thought. And I'm lost.
Lost in a space that is just me and what is emerging from the paper. For hours. With no sense of time. That has me dancing with such a wonderful sense of pure joy to the music playing in my studio.
And then there comes the moment. When she talks to me. Her eyes look back at me and she tells me her story. At times the impact has me in tears.
And I stop painting because I have to. The zone has been broken and I now have to actively think again as to what I need to do to finish the painting. It is at this moment that it is always, always (I have to remind myself!) best to walk away. For at least a day.
When I come back, she tells me what she needs.
And, sometimes, it is nothing more. What needed to be said has been.
Then, it is up to me not to fiddle or push. (Read my tips on what not to do!)
It is in her portraits that Donna's unique style is instantly recognisable; for the way that she tells the story to be told in the eyes of her subjects.
Awards and things
This is me (on the left) with one of my watercolours in Suvereto in Tuscany in October 2022. Each year this small but ever so beautiful medieval hill top town hosts in an incredibly organised and welcoming festival called, "Art in Borgo".
The paved streets, squares and cloister become home to artists and artisans displaying and selling their creations, accompanied by live street acts and music. It is a magical day.
And there is a competition for the best art in response to a theme set in advance of the day. I was bowled over to win second place :)
The portrait I painted was actually my first ever venture into a mixed media watercolour: the inspiration and how I went about creating it can be found here.
Exhibitions
29 June to 5 July 2019 - Lo Sguardo - solo exhibition, Il Portale delle Arti, "ne'ex complesso delle Clarisse, Piazza XXIV Maggio, Massa Marittima, Italy.
23 June to 1 July 2022 - MURI Mostra D'Arte - Palazzo dell'Abbondanza, Massa Marittima, Italy.
22 June to 2 July 2023 - IN-CONTATTO qualcosa qualcuno nessuno - Palazzo dell'Abbondanza, Massa Marittima, Italy.
17 to 26 August 2024 - The Arundel Gallery Trail with the Arundel Art Society in the Cathedral Centre, Arundel, West Sussex, UK.
I was thrilled to bits that my colourful watercolour Weimarener portrait was chosen for the publicity poster for the venue.
Exhibiting in Gigglewick Gallery, Worthing
I am delighted that you can now find a selection of my watercolours at the lovely Gigglewick Gallery, in Worthing, West Sussex, UK.
The gallery is in the unique and historic location of The Royal Arcade, opposite the seafront and pier, and is home to a wonderful selection of original art and prints.
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