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 ...

  "Peace Within" I was recently fortunate enough to host a workshop with the most fabulous artist, Jenny Grant.   http://www.flowbyjenny.com/en I first found Jenny on Facebook a couple of years ago. Jenny is from Stockholm, Sweden.  On a whim, last year I asked her if she would come to the US and hold a workshop.  To my surprise, she said yes and was gracious enough to come to Colorado and hold a workshop on her mixed media techniques.  This painting was a result of her workshop.  Here below are some photos of how my painting progressed through the many layers.  The first pictures depict how papers, inks, and paints were layered on to this piece. Then I added more modeling paste for texture and then more color!   After drying, we took a reference photo and proceeded to add a face.  I wanted the face to meld in with the background. To finish off, I added some darker inks and more stamping....

Surrender to the Moment She finds herself lost in rare, quiet, solitude. Her mind wanders, illuminated with her dreams. Almost like a field full of wildflowers, touched by the sun, swaying in the warm breeze. Grace and peace are her momentary companions. She is grateful and surrenders to this one, small, moment in time. This piece was created with many layers of papers, inks, paint, and modeling paste. The layers create rich depth and texture. It is done on a wooden cradleboard canvas and measures 14 X 18 X 1.5". This piece is available. I would love to hear from you - feel free to email me at: saltlightwatercolors@yahoo.com donnamartinfineart.com https://www.facebook.com/donnamartinfineart/

Stages of the Heart This is an original mixed media piece I created after going through alot of grieving, 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 and burlap, painted 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 alot of emotion. The third Heart is "Healing", signifying the healing that can happen after loss. It is made of some of the broken windshield glass and bandages. This is a very personal piece to me and helped me to express all the various emotions that I was feeling. The original piece is sold.  Commissions are welcome.  For questions or comments, please feel free to contact me at: saltlightwat...

"Beyond Words" The photo above shows the finished piece, titled "Beyond Words".  The photos below show how it started out and the progression of this piece.  I got a wild hair and decided I needed to move out of my comfort zone and use some different colors.  To tell you the truth, I almost scrapped the whole painting.  It was REALLY out of my comfort zone! I painted with grays, burgundy, and threw in a little Van Dyke brown for good measure.  I added tissue paper, collage papers, and modeling paste with a stencil. I began to tone it down and soften it up by adding white.  I like how the other colors and patterns still show through.  There are alot of layers going on here!  At this point, I still don't know what is happening with this piece and I'm still not real happy with it, but I'm forging on. I used a wing stencil with some modeling paste over the top of these layers.  I painted the wings iridescen...

Artist Appreciation Month Did you know that August is "Artist Appreciation Month"?  In honor of this month, I was encouraged by Patience Brewster to write a blog about the artist that has inspired my work .  I jumped at the opportunity because I know who "my" artist is.  I couldn't wait to tell the story. In July, 2011, I resumed a friendship that I thought was long lost.  My friend and I had not spoken in a few years.  We had just both been busy, trying to live our lives and deal with the day-to-day.  My friend emailed to say hello and that he had found my website and spent a couple hours looking at my paintings.  At the time, all I did was watercolors.  I felt like that was the work I was supposed to do and couldn't really do anything else.  We began corresponding through email and picked up our friendship, just like we had last spoken yesterday.  We had always been able to talk to each other and open up to each other withou...

     Fly Free I shared this last year, but thought it would be worth sharing again.  I have always been one of those people who is naturally shy.  It may have a little to do with the way we were raised, we were always told that children "are to be seen and not heard".  Growing up in that culture, I've always had trouble expressing what I'm feeling or saying what I wanted to say.  Why would I have anything worth saying?  I always felt that when I finally was able to say something, was anyone really listening?  To add to this, I grew up feeling like I really didn't fit in anywhere, that I was usually the odd one out.  I was the one who got picked last for the team, didn't stand up for myself...I didn't know how, didn't have " permission ".  I couldn't really find my place, or my voice.  I attended Columbine High School for one semester before we moved to a wonderful little small Texas ...

"Trust Your Heart" So, it's a New Year, and of course, time for resolutions and "new beginnings".  I have to admit, I struggle this time of year.  I sort of get melancholy and I am not the most optimistic person during this "season".  Everything seems dull and gray and sort of lifeless.  Honestly, I wish I were a bear and could go into hibernation mode until the spring.   At the beginning of a new year, it seems everyone always has the best intentions and I do too.  But, about mid-January, I have given up on any sort of "resolution" I may have made verbally or in my head.  I convince myself that it was the New Year's Eve champagne talking - not really me.  I didn't mean it...I never would have made that my resolution.  So as you can see,  I really, really stink at resolutions and it is a big problem for me.  Keeping this in mind, I decided not to make them anymore.  Instead, last year, I decided to co...

"She Saw the Light" This is a little whimsical mixed media painting that came as a result of an online class.  Lifebook 2015 - it is awesome so far!  Our "theme" was to create a "beacon of light".  I really struggled and felt unsure of myself in doing this project.  My word for last  year was "Fearless" and that word totally went out the window this year when I started this project. I pondered, I tried.  I picked her up, made her an "ugly teenager painting" and put her back down.  For days and days she was an ugly teenager painting - no kidding.  The pictures below don't even show her ugly stage and they are pretty bad.   Then finally deciding to "work" on her, I went to find something in my stash of supplies to construct her dress.  The first thing I came across was an antique hymnal with a song titled "I've Seen the Light". That was it...this wasn't coincidence and I knew I ...