We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Donna Downey a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Donna, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

So much of my art is based in capturing the beauty in the broken. The pure vulnerability of the human spirit. There is connection through the expressive mark in which viewer and artist meet. Whether I am working in Figurative, floral or abstract the voice in each mark I make and the colori choose is about the human connections that alte our lives on a daily basis. the feminine is very important to me. It is the reason I teach and connect with other artists through my Patreon, It is the Community of creatives and women that have made the most impact on the direction of my art. When my marriage. of 20 years ended in divorce it was women creators that surrounded me and helped me find my voice. This series, my “O Series” was the pivot point. As the now divorced spouse of alcoholism I chose to process and unpack the grief through my own 12 step series of art https://www.donnadowney.com/pages/o-series

Donna, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Empowering artists to take creative risks and realize their creative potential.

I consider myself to be on a creative journey that continues to surprise me every time I step in front of my canvas. My paintings continue to evolve in style and technique, but one thing stays constant: I am in love with painting the human figure. I use unfinished lines and painterly strokes to express the emotional vulnerability of human existence in everyday life. The impermanence and fragility of life is the essential focus of my work.

I love to experiment with either a monochromatic palette or an explosion of vibrant colors, depending on my mood. The process of applying paint to canvas is an emotional experience for me and I even find it a bit sexy. Exploring the use of shadow and light as a push and pull of interest for the viewer is a constant theme in my art. I often start each painting with a simple concept or idea in mind then I start placing color throughout the canvas, letting the colors intuitively reveal the composition. The paintings develop in response to the energy created between myself and the paint. I use painting as a meditation and I deeply enjoy the never ending challenge to evoke a particular mood or emotion for the viewer.

I currently devote much of my heart and passion to travel teaching and my Patreon Community https://www.patreon.com/donnadowney . It is difficult to even put into words the connections that have been made over the years. Its all about connections for me

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

this is an interesting question for so many reasons. As artists we have a beautiful gift and opportunity to change the way others react to their surroundings. It could be the music that connects us to an emotion, to the books we read, to the art we surround ourselves with. This is a message that needs to be a part of the connections to society. I always share that as an artist I paint in conversations, the language and voice of color and mark have always found there way to the person/collector that needed to have that conversation and connect to what the piece made them feel. It is a beautiful gift to allow yourself to immerse yourself in the connection.

Sharing this connection, talking about it, tagging an artist on social media, etc…that goes a long way in sharing and building the societal connection

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Without a doubt it is the connections to the women/people I would not have met otherwise. Deep meaningful connections established through art and grown in love

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.donnadowney.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/donnadowneyart
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/donnadowneyARTIST
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donnadowneyartist/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/donnadowney
• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/donnadowney