The Art Work of Donna L. Godlove
Donna has worked with graphite and acrylic for most of her life. Primarily self taught. But she never quite accepted art as a second career until September of 2010. She all but put the easel away while raising a family, college and a career. Once retired from banking, she started her artist work anew. Her first move was to find a good instructor and mentor to get her started again. This time with pastels: an entirely new medium for her. The more she explored what these sticks of pigment could do, the more she pushed them into unknown territory. When asked why she moved to pastels, she stated, “ I don’t do anything by half. Finding a mentor that is both a great guide and fierce friend was paramount. She sparked a passion in me. I discovered what I seldom found in the acrylics. It’s the softness, the life and the way the light just bounces off of the pieces. I just can‘t get enough.” Donna has gone from not knowing what pastels were, to having her own exhibitions in 2 short years. And as she says, “I am so fortunate to be able to do what I love, and I’m just getting started.” Donna now works primarily in soft pastels, but she has also expanded to include oil pastels, watercolor and colored pencil work.
Donna enjoys hearing from those that have visited her website. www.donnagodlove.fineartstudioonline.com. Take a walk through her portfolio and if you have any questions or concerns, leave a message. She is considered a pastelist, but also works in Oil pastel, Colored Pencil and to some extent, Watercolor. Testing the waters, she never wanders far. Always coming home to the pastels. That is where her heart is.
An active member of Allegany Arts Council, Garrett County Arts Council and Washington County Arts Council.
Listed on the website of the Maryland State Art Council.
Juried into the Gallery of the Garrett County Arts Council-Juried into the Members Only Show 2012
2012 Mountain Maryland Plein Air- A juried event in June, Cumberland, Md.
The Best of Local Artist Exhibition- for 2011. Held at the Washington County Arts Council, Hagerstown Md.
May 2012 Featured Artist for Uart, pastel paper, on the company Facebook Page.
2011 and 2012 Mountain Maryland Art Sale and Tour. Giving hands on demonstrations.
Local exhibitions around the Cumberland/Allegany County area.
Solo Exhibition: “Mountain Memories” Washington County Art Council, Hagerstown Md, October 2012
Solo Exhibition: March and April: The Fairfax Coffee House Gallery, Berkeley Springs West Virginia.
Artist Statement:
I have been many things in my life. A wife and mother. A grandmother, a great Grandmother, Sister, aunt and friend. I am still all of these things. I am proud to say that the boys turned into good men. My job there is done. They all have their own lives, but still are settled firmly in my heart. I want them to be as proud of me as I am of them. That means not sitting in a rocking chair, knitting. Or waiting for them to visit. Standing at the easel has become an integral part of my life. Like breathing. I get lost. Often. For 5 minutes or 5 hours, it’s like taking a mini vacation from the rest of the world. I am alive and I am at peace. There I discovered a few things about myself. I found that age has nothing to do with what happens at the easel. It’s what you feel inside. while you are creating. I strive, to work the magic I feel when I am using one of these wondrous sticks of paint. Hoping, at the same time, that my patrons get a least a glimpse of what I see. I start the excursion and they decide where it leads. It doesn’t matter whether it is a portrait, a landscape, or an animal. I have the pleasure of painting not only what I see, but what I feel. A bit of me is in everyone of them. It’s like watching myself while I paint. Like magic. I am an Artist. I intend for the magic to continue for a long, long time.
