Donna L. Martin Fine Art

Stages of the Heart This is an original mixed media piece I created after going through stages of grief, feelings of loss, and healing after the death of a dear friend. It is titled "Stages of the Heart".  The first Heart is "Hopeful", in thinking about the beginning of a relationship and wondering what the future might hold. It is a red heart made of Tyvek paper and burlap, painted in shades of red. The second heart is "Broken", and represents what I was feeling about death and loss. It is a purple heart made of broken windshield glass. It expresses a myriad of emotions.  The third Heart is "Healing", signifying the healing that can happen after loss. It is made of some of the broken windshield glass and gauze bandages. The piece was finished with a resin, which gave it alot of depth and made the colors "pop".  This is a very personal piece to me and helped me to express all the various emotions that I was feel...

Forgotten Girl Dear Forgotten Girl, I see you.  I've always seen you.   I saw the many times you were overlooked and felt forgotten.  I was there when you were always the last picked for the team.  I saw the hurt in your eyes when friends would pass you by to hang out with the other "cool kids".  You never fit it, because of your last name, because the color of your skin wasn't the same as the others in your class, because you were the quiet one.  You were restless and longing for more...even at a young age. You tried your hardest to make friends, but so often, it didn't happen.  You were different, not like the others. I witnessed your best friend's dad abusing you at the age of 7.  I felt your confusion and your pain, not quite sure of what just happened.  You were too scared to tell your parents.  How would you even tell them something you didn't understand yourself?  Would they believe you anyway...you ...

Dragons Soar This is the latest little painting I completed.  It's the time of the year I've been thinking about family, getting out in the warm sunshine, planting flowers, breathing in the fresh air.  I named it "Dragons Soar" because I have a little sign in my garden that says "In my garden, hearts soar and dragons fly."  In thinking about the dragonfly and creating this piece, I found this interesting symbolism.  The dragonfly normally lives most of its life as a nymph or an immature. It flies only for a fraction of its life and usually not more than a few months. This adult dragonfly does it all in these few months and leaves nothing to be desired. This style of life symbolizes and exemplifies the virtue of living IN the moment and living life to the fullest. By living in the moment you are aware of who you are, where you are, what you are doing, what you want, what you don’t and are able to make informed choices on a moment-to-moment b...

Infinity In the midst of winter, I start dreaming about spring.  It's the time for renewal, new starts, new colors, new choices.  I always look forward to the flowers blooming and the warm sunshine blowing around in the spring winds.   Another thing I look forward to is the return of the hummingbirds.  My Grandma, from the time I can remember, always had a hummingbird feeder up at her place in the mountains.  I remember as a child being mesmerized by them and by my Grandmother's care for them.  They were like little tiny dancers. My Grandma is gone now and I miss her so much.  We had a special bond and she was the one I could turn to with any of my secrets without fear of judgement or rejection.  She worried about me, cried with me, celebrated with me, and loved me unconditionally.  I wish we would have had more time together. Whenever the hummingbirds come back around, I think of her.  These teeny, little birds have so muc...

"Take These Broken Wings" Sometimes we feel lost, broken, and so alone.  We feel like we've lost the ability to "fly", to find the joy, the ability to be grateful and see the good in the world.  It's almost as though we look in the mirror and don't recognize the shadow looking back at us. Sometimes, we need people to help us recreate our broken wings, to transform them into something different, something beautiful.  We need the random kindness of a stranger, a smile from the person behind the counter, almost as much as we need the people that know us the best and love us anyway.  Let's face it, there is much brokenness in the world.  People are hurting, people are searching, people are crying alone in the darkness of the night.  My question to you is, can you be a light?  Can you give someone a smile or say hello, even thought we are all different?  Can you make a difference in someone's life and be a step to mending broken wings? ...

"Magic in the Mess" It's hard to believe that January is already over and another month has begun.   What a month January was.  My son got married in December and they announced that they are having a baby boy, due to make his appearance the first part of June.  He will be our first Grandson and we are so excited.  At the same time, my Father-in-Law became extremely ill and recently passed away.  It's so hard to believe he is gone.  My husband still feels like he needs to pick up the phone every week and check on him.  My daughter struggles...every day.  She is a single mom raising my granddaughter on her own.  I worry about my aging parents and I wish we lived closer so we could help more.  I constantly wonder what will happen next and how will we get through it.  I thought things would be easier at this stage of life.   I guess my point is, there always seems to be some mess, some drama going on in life. ...

"Cherish This Life" We recently lost someone very special to us.  My Father-in-Law, Mikey, was Italian, to the core.  He grew up in North Denver, in what was known as little Italy.  He worked at an Italian Bakery for much of his life and he fought in WWII, in Normandy.  He knew the Italian Mob Bosses in Denver, worked hard to raise his family, and he loved to gamble in Vegas.  He was pretty good at it too. He also loved to go dancing.  He went dancing almost every Saturday night up until about 4 months ago.   There was just no question where you stood with Mikey.  My husband has commented so many times about what a great role model he was.  I believe it because my husband is a great man.  Mikey took me into the family just like a daughter and I loved him.  We have so many great memories of him and walking through life with him.  I am grateful.   Mikey would always tell us, "Everybody's got to go some...