Contrasts

Great Blue, watermedia, 21X14 inches (IM) 29X22 inches (FR

I love long legged wading birds. The stillness of this great blue heron is a nice contrast for the movement in the background. 

Chill Wind

A Chill Wind that Blows No Good, Watermedia: Acrylic,  29X22 inches (FR)

 

Part of my wind series, the tree is from my grandmother's yard, but everything else is from my imagination.  As a little girl I loved the trees in Mamaw's yard because their twisted and knobby character was evidence of their history.  More than 100 years of life in a farmyard serving as everything from playhouse to butcher's hoist.

Louisiana Swampscape

Twilight, Acrylic on Composite Board, 30 X 24 Inches, 2010 www.ouachitariverartgallery.com

 

This painting one of 4 paintings that marked the beginning of a change in my recent work. Twilight is an attempt to capture not only the physical imagery but the emotional myth of the Louisiana swampscape; the eternal battle between dark and light, myth and truth.

Dream Portal

Dream Portal, Acrylic, 18 X 24 Inches

 

In Dream Portal I try to use color and light to evoke the filtered light common on woodland trails, inviting the viewer to take a walk with me.  I love the woods and have been exploring all of my life.  I am also a dreamer and more likely to daydream than be fearful when alone in the woods.



Beyond

Beyond Me, Acrylic, Watermedia Acrylic, 28X21 inches (IM), 36X28 inches (FR)

 

This time of year the sky seems infinite and you can really look up and see.  So look up and find something beyond. 

Infinite Mysteries

Infinite Mysteries, Watermedia Acrylic, 8 X 6 inches (IM), 13 X 15 inches (FR)

"Why" is not just a question that 2 years olds ask.  I think we ask why all of our lives.  The answer is one of the Infinite Mysteries of Life. The contrasting colors green and red represent the answers to our "why?" or mysteries of life.

Looking Back

Flight, Watercolor and Ink diptych, from an earlier series, Delicate Balance

 

 This painting explores the idea of spatial balance, negative and positive space reversal.  We search for balance in our lives and if we are lucky we have enough positive experiences to balance the negative Experiences

Morning Reflections

 

Early Morning Reflections, Oil in Plein Air, 9X12 inches. Painted along Williams Creek, in Southern Colorado, Summer 2012

 

Painting for me is meditation.  There is enough controversy in the world.  I seek a state of oneness, to be one with, to simply be.

Water Color

Water Color, Acrylic: Mixed Watermedia, 29 x 22 Inches

To see more of Donna's artwork, visit her website.

 

Fish are mesmerizing, just watching their motions is calming to the spirit.  With their  bright, warm colors that contrast with the cool reflected blues of the water they are the "color" in water.  As they swim they seem to leave sparkling colors in their wake.  



Dragonfly Mysteries Continued

Waterdragon Landing, Acrylic: Watermedia, 29X22 Inches

To see more of Donna's artwork, visit her website.

 

The reflected summer sky is a pale iridescent blue surrounded by cool blue and greenish shadows. The color of the sky seems to be just the same as the abdomen of the dragonfly. This beautiful dragonfly with the bluish green eyes is maybe a blue dasher. After ordering 3 books on dragonfly identification, I am still not confident of my skills with identification and am only slightly less confused than before.  As an artist, I can see that they have the most beautiful intricate wings and eyes that look like a thousand little pixels.  They like sun best and seem to be most active during the hottest part of the day.  They eat bugs (I like the word bugs better than insects) and if the books are correct sometimes each other. They fly with their legs folded underneath their bodies unfolding them to land.



Dragonfly Mysteries

Water Color Blues, Acrylic: mixed media, 29 x 21 inches (sold)

To see more of Donna's artwork, visit her website.

 

 

This summer I spent most days in my studio. The path from the house to the studio passes by my fish pond. You may have read in a previous post that I have a fascination with dragonflies. One of my favorite inspirational writings asks "What do you know about dragonflies...?" and is about the mystery of life and death.  Well I still don't have answers to the questions of life, death and why, but this summer I have learned a little about the life of dragonflies.  I have watched them fighting, mating, hunting, feeding (eating other bugs), changing states; seen their various poses and finally ordered books to try and give them names. Dragonfly identification is very confusing so the mystery remains, but I think this is a blue dasher. (Mystery to be continued next week) 



Workshops

Workshops

My Fiend Linda Snider Ward and I will be offering some art workshops in Union Parish. Go to Union Parish Arts Council for more info.  See schedule below.  I will be announcing soon a workshop in West Monroe.

Donna McGee

September 21 & 28 - Oil Painting Basics Workshop for adults September 21 & 28, $50 per day or $125 for 3 sessions (with Plein Air). 9:00am-4:00pm
October 5 - Plein Air Workshop, $50/day or 3-day session including Sept 21 & 28 for $125. 9:00am-4:00pm
November 16 - Work in Your Own Medium & receive instructions from Donna, $50. 9:00 am- 4:00 pm
View more of my work at www.donnafmcgee.com.  Contact me at dfm09@att.net or dmcgee09@comcast.net

Chenier Lake Fall, Oil  on canvas, 8x10 inches

Palette Knife Painting

 Morning on River Jubilee Farms, Oil on Canvas Panel, 9x12 inches

Plein air painting in Snoqualmie Valley Washington

 



Iris from My Garden, Oil on Canvas Panel, 11x14 inches

 

Linda Snider Ward

September 7, 2013 - Drawing Basics for adults (9:00-11:30am) $25 & for children 1:30-3:30pm, $15. location TBA
October 19, 2013 - Drawing Basics for adults (9:00-11:30am) $25 & for children 1:30-3:30pm, $15. location TBA
November 2, 2013 - Watercolor Basics for adults (9:00-11:30am) $30 & for children 1:30-3:30pm $20. location TBA
December 7, 2013 - Watercolor Basics for adults (9:00-11:30am) $30 & for children 1:30-3:30pm $20. location TBA
You can view Linda’s art at http://art-pony.com                

 To contact Linda: painthorsegallery@gmail.com
  Cat Patterns (mixed media) by Linda Snider Ward

Red Sky Morning

 

Red Sky Morning, Acrylic: Mixed Media

Accepted into the Mississippi Watercolor Society's Grand National Exhibition
To see more of Donna's artwork, visit her website.

 

This painting was inspired by the descriptive writing of Louisiana novelist, James Lee Burke.  I enjoy reading, poetry and descriptive novels.  Sad to say not many writers today can give the reader a sense of place and how the environment affects the characters. Burke makes me see the south Louisiana coastal swamp with it changing moods. This painting depicts a view of the landscape with almost serene elements, but the colors warm and cold in conflict give the true feeling that something ominous approaches.



My painting table

Sometimes I have more paint on me and the floor than on the paper.  In the beginning I am just choosing colors and waiting to see what they will become.  Pictured Spring Wind (working title) in progress.


To see more of my artwork, visit my website.

From Vision Manifest series

Summer Visitor

Recently, I have been working in various water soluble media: acrylic, watercolor, dry pigment and others on gessoed WC paper.  Each painting begins as an abstract and sometimes they remain that way.  The background is very loose and free, a spiritual birth of color and textures.  Feature elements, which are a little more controlled, are derived from my sketchbook and photos. This method gives expression to both aspects of my personality the loose, free adventurer and  the controlled got to live in the real world and keep stuff straight me. 

To see more of my work visit www.donnafmcgee.com

Nature always with me

 Oglesby Pond ( on Camp Road), oil on canvas panel

 

Morning Reflections, Williams Creek, oil on canvas panel

 

I also like working directly from nature, plein air.  When I am there with the sound of water or buzzing of bees, I become a part of the place and nature accepts me.  Once a deer almost ran over me while I was painting and wild turkeys, some of the wariest of creatures, have walked within a few feet of me. I have learned so much from these experiences and these paintings are the kind of deep study that often finds its way into my more creative work. I have come to know trees and rocks and they are always with me waiting to be a part of the worlds I create from my inner vision.

 

 

A Chill Wind That Blows No Good, Water media

To see more of my work visit www.donnafmcgee.com

Great time with friends and fellow artists at art crawl last night.  Misty, Rebecca, Katherine, Emilia,  (not pictured) Catherine and Natalie  joined me Ouachita River Art Gallery.  I enjoyed showing you my work and introducing you to my other art friends. Hope we can do it again some time.

Tranquility Found

Tranquility Found, mixed media, 28" x 21". To see more of Donna's artwork, visit her website.

This painting was inspired by the fish in my backyard pond.  I love their colors and enjoy watching them. The pond is beside the walk that leads from my house to my studio and is a place to stop for a few minutes of tranquility between the demands of the real world and the creative place in my mind.

Rising Tides & Setting Suns

Rising Tides & Setting Suns, mixed media, 28" x 21". To see more of Donna's artwork, visit her website.

This painting was inspired by the gulf oil spill and its affect on the environment and economy of the area.

Warm November Wind

Warm November Wind, watermedia acrylic w/rice paper, 21" x 14". To see more of Donna's artwork, visit her website.

Warm November Wind was inspired by the warm breezes of the fall season in the south; breezes that carry colorful leaves drifting down to coat the ground.  It is a season of quiet waiting as if the whole world id preparing for the sleep of winter.  

Summer Thoughts Continued

Celebration of the Dragonfly, Acrylic, 10 X 14 (Image)

To see more of Donna's artwork, visit her website.

This summer I have been spending a lot of time around my backyard meditating on life, insects, fish and other things.  One night I heard a noise and, when I looked to see what was there, I discovered a pair of tiny baby raccoons, like hump-backed kittens pouncing on leaves or insects (I never saw the mother).  A little green dragonfly that was not afraid of me behind the camera lens and let me approach until we were lens to face.  Butterflies and hummingbirds sipping from flowers.  A snake (ugh!), a tortoise or two that wandered through and several kinds of frogs.  

Summer Thoughts

 



Some People are Dragonflies, Acrylic, 10 X 14 inches ( Image)

 

 

Some are Just Frogs, Acrylic, 10 X14 inches (Image)

 

Paintings from backyard visitors.  To see more of Donna's artwork, visit her website.

 

Life is cyclical.  Some cycles are continuous; some are broken and start again. Dragonflies, butterflies, frogs experience different stages of life, metamorphosis or change as they mature.   One of the themes in my work is change, evolution or transformation.  Humans also change as they progress through life.  There is a lot of difference between the innocent baby, the adventurous or unruly teenager, the young adult, and the senior.  As babies we all are pretty much the same, but as we mature life and choices shape us until we are very different.  Some people become dragonflies, some butterflies, and some are just frogs.



Mystery of the Dragonfly

Mystery of the Dragonfly, watermedia: acrylic, 10 X 14 inches (image size). To see more of Donna's artwork, visit her website.

I have always been intrigued by dragonflies.  In my small backyard pond, I have watched them transform from nymph into dragonfly and spread their lacy wings.  A few years ago I read a meditation from  And God Saw that It Was Good by Carlo Carretto (edited), "What, pray, do you know about dragonflies? Or what happens when they die? What if, at that moment, there were high festival? What if pain turned into joy. What if death became life, more life, all life? " Of course he was speaking metaphorically about human life, all life, and death.  I think and paint metaphorically or symbolically.  The painting above is one of six dragonfly paintings, and it celebrates the mystery of life with its contrasts of light and dark that bring about change. Just "what" do we know?

 

Not Even the Dragonfly

Not Even the Dragonfly, mixed media, 2l.5" x 14.5". To see more of Donna's artwork, visit her website.

Moving Toward Quiet

Moving Toward Quiet, watermedia acrylic, 21" x 14". To see more of Donna's artwork, visit her website.

Moving Toward Quiet is inspired by a time in the high desert right after sunset. Reflected light from the sky remains and some colors are still bright, but everything is quiet just before night begins.

Life's Cycle

Life's Cycle, mixed media, 28" x 21". To see more of Donna's artwork, visit herwebsite.

Into the Light

Into the Light, watermedia acrylic, 28" x 21". To see more of Donna's artwork, visit her website.

Infinite Mysteries II

Infinite Mysteries II, watermedia acrylic. To view more of Donna's artwork, visit her website.

Infinite Mysteries I

Infinite Mysteries I, watermedia acrylic. To see more of Donna's artwork, visit her website.

Beyond Me

Beyond Me, acrylic, 28" x 21". To see more of Donna's artwork, visit her website

Green, Gold, & Crimson

Green, Gold, & Crimson. watermedia acrylic, 14" x 10". To see more of Donna's artwork, visit her website.

Edge of Eternity

Edge of Eternity, watermedia acrylic, 28" x 21". To see more of Donna's artwork, visit her website.

Edge of Darkness

Edge of Darkness, watermedia acrylic, 28" x 21". To see more of Donna's artwork, visit her website.

A Chill Wind That Blows No Good

A Chill Wind That Blows No Good, watermedia acrylic, 21" x 14". You can see more of Donna's artwork on her website.

Wind of Change

Wind of Change, acrylic, 28" x 21". To see more of Donna's artwork, visit her website.

Red Sky Morning

Red Sky Morning, watermedia acrylic, 21" x 14". You can see more of Donna's artwork on herwebsite.

Red Sky Morning  was inspired by the “Sailors take Warning” phrase.  I love the contrast of these particular red and blue pigments and how they interact.  As sky and trees meet in a fusion of color, the setting is serene, but hints at hidden dangers.

Sorrow Falls Like Mist

Sorrow Falls Like Mist, watermedia, 21" x 14". You can see more of Donna's artwork on her website

Creek Bed

Creek Bed, watermedia acrylic, 21" x 14"
You can see more of Donna's artwork on her website.

Swampfire

Swampfire (watermedia) was accepted into the Louisiana Watercolor Society's 2013 juried exhibition.

World Aflame

World Aflame (watermedia/acrylic on paper) was accepted into the Texas and Neighbors juried exhibition.

Great Blue

Great Blue (watermedia on paper) was accepted into the Tom Peyton Memorial competition in Alexandria, Louisiana.