Donna L. Martin Fine Art

"She Danced"    This one of my latest mixed media pieces.  The words just seemed perfect for this one.  I was inspired by an artist that teaches "tu tu" painting classes and I really wanted to try and make my own "dress" and add my own unique, personal touches and words. Anyone who knows me, knows I struggle with words.  When I paint, I feel like I communicate what I can't say.  I get lost in another world and time slips away. This is how I imagine it is for other artists as well.  I can imagine when dancing, time slips away and the dancer is transported into another world. This canvas was huge, literally for me.  My brother has been encouraging me to do larger works.  So, because I love him so much and he always knows what's good for me, I took the leap.  This is my second attempt at a 36 X 36 X 1.5 canvas.  My first attempt felt so daunting and I felt so lost.  With this current piece, emotions a...

"Circle of Life" "Circle of Life" This is my latest painting, fresh off the easel.  Let me tell you, this one was difficult and I feel like there were some painting and life lessons learned with this one! In Progress I liked the way it started out, but I felt it needed more texture, something to make it "pop".  So I added some molding paste and let it dry. Still....in Progress Then I started adding paint and painted foil.  I still feel like the bird faded into the background.  That little bird kept wanting to say "look at me, look at me"!! No matter how hard I tried, she faded and faded into the background.  Isn't that how we all feel sometimes...no matter how hard we try to be seen, we just fade into the background.  We yell, we scream, we ruffle our feathers, but we are not seen or heard. Then, all got quiet.  Both the bird and I quit trying so hard.  I went back to working on the bird, as well as darkening ...

  "Fly"         "Flying" and being brave seems to be my "theme" for the year.  This whole new adventure, painting in mixed media, has been born out of a tragedy.  It has evolved out of trying to heal and explore what works for me in the healing process.    In this new journey, I have been trying to push myself and my art.  I've been finding my voice, for the first time, through my art and what it says.  I seem to be connecting to people through my art...and no words seem to be necessary.  All of the emotions in my heart and soul spill out on to the canvas.     This piece has several layers in it.  I used stencils at the very beginning and then began layering torn and painted pieces of paper over the stenciled areas.  I used a stencil and molding paste to add more texture.  I then added a photo transfer of the butterfly and painted over her body and wings.  In t...

"She Danced"        This is my latest mixed media piece.  The words just seemed perfect for this one.  I was inspired by an artist that teaches "tu tu" painting classes and I really wanted to try and make my own "dress" and add my own unique, personal touches and words.    Anyone who knows me, knows I struggle with words.  When I paint, I feel like I communicate what I can't say.  I get lost in another world and time slips away.    This is how I imagine it is for other artists as well.  I can imagine when dancing, time slips away and the dancer is transported into another world.  This canvas was huge, literally for me.  My brother has been encouraging me to do larger works.  So, because I love him so much and he always knows what's good for me, I took the leap.  This is my second attempt at a 36 X 36 X 1.5 canvas.  My first attempt felt so daunting and I felt so lost.  With t...