“Transformation”, Original Mixed Media Painting by Colorado Artist, Donna L. Martin

"Transformation"

Throughout this year, there have been alot of changes and "transformations" in my life.  This painting symbolizes the changes and the beauty that can eventually come from the "mess" of life.

I started this painting, probably a good 3 years ago.  I threw paint on the canvas very randomly and then got "stuck".  I didn't know where to go with the brush strokes or what to do next.  This is how I felt also in my life.  I began to make some much needed changes and my life and this painting began to transform.  

I feel like the light is coming back into my soul. I feel like there are "possibilities" again.  I've stopped saying "NO" and have become my old gypsy soul.  So, this painting titled "Transformation" was born.

I think all of us become lost at times or stuck.  The trick is to keep on plowing through the mess and realize there is beauty at the end of the storm.

This painting is sold, but commissions are possible.  I always welcome messages with comments or questions!

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"Beauty from the Brokenness", Original Mixed Media Painting by Colorado Artist, Donna L. Martin

"Beauty from the Brokenness"

This little painting is the newest one to be completed.  It is an original mixed media piece done with acrylics, inks, painted papers, and broken windshield glass.  

I know so many people who are having such difficulty and loss in their lives right now. This was my attempt at expressing how beauty can come after our brokenness and loss.

The size on this piee is 12 X 12.  It will be finished with resin and will be available during an online Handmade Holiday Auction I am participating in. Check it out to see the amazing artwork that will be available!

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"Colorado Autumn Aspen", Original Mixed Media Painting by Colorado Artist, Donna L. Martin

"Colorado Autumn Aspen"

This was a commissioned mixed media piece that I recently completed.  My client lives in Arizona but grew up in Monte Vista, CO.  On the bottom portion of the piece, I added pieces of a 1964 Colorado Road Map.  I placed the town of Monte Vista in the upper center portion of the map .  This made it unique and very special to my client.  The trees were constructed of paper, paint, ink, and modeling paste. The leaves were done with hand-painted paper - each one torn individually from the paper.  I loved working on this piece and the client told me she will always treasure this piece.  There is nothing more rewarding!

For questions, comments, or to commission your original piece of artwork, please contact me at:

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“Dreaming of a Blue Moon”, Original Mixed Media Painting by Colorado Artist, Donna L. Martin

"Dreaming of a Blue Moon"

This little piece started as a demo piece for a mixed media class I was teaching/leading (I think the students teach me as much as I do them).  I started out using acrylic paint in blues and golds.  I added stencils and texture paste to create the flowers in the background.  I still wasn't sure what my subject was going to be, but that is becoming the norm for me!

Pretty soon, I noticed some of the patterning on the piece and thought it looked like feathering and wings.  I decided to take a chance and see if an owl would come to life in this piece.  (This was the patterning I brought forward in her chest and wings)

I decided to make her look very fluffy and sleepy.  I accented her shape with a sharpie paint pen and made the branch out of painted vintage sheet music.  The leaves were made with painted rice paper.  

She is peacefully sleeping, dreaming of the blue moon!

This piece measures 12 X 12 X 1.5.  It is finished with a shiny resin coat, which really brings the colors to life.  This little owl is available and comes ready to hang.

Feel free to send me an email with any comments, questions, or if you are interested in purchasing.

saltlightwatercolors@yahoo.com

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"Humble Beginnings", Original Mixed Media Painting by Colorado Artist, Donna L. Martin

"Humble Beginnings"

This piece was created because of my Brother.  He's followed me along on this "journey".  He told me that I should paint "BIG".  This painting is a result of that effort!  It seemed like it took me forever.  I stressed over it, then enjoyed it, then questioned everything about it.  This is the end result. 

I thought about this painting as a "beginning" of sorts.  By that I thought about symbolizing a young couple starting their own family.  In another new beginning of sorts, It could  symbolize a new beginning as an "empty nester".  Both of those scenarios are big, huge, sometimes scary, unknown adventures.  Both are humbling, full of learning and experiencing a new season in life.  For a new family, it's full of anticipation and expectation.  For a family with children leaving home, it could be grieving and figuring out how to parent in a different way.  It's hard to watch your babies leave the nest and make a new life on their own.  The couple expecting a new baby has to learn how to remain a couple when times are hard and their focus is no longer solely on each other.  The couple letting go of grown children have to relearn how to be a couple, yet still find their own individual paths.  Needless to say, it's complicated.

Close up of Leaves and Texture Detail

Close up of Nest

The nest is made from Pine Needles and a stencil.  It was not easy gluing all of these tiny little needles on to the canvas, but I sure do like how it turned out. 

Detail of the Aspen Trees

Even though life is complicated and there are different seasons, we can always look forward to new beginnings.  I've learned that even when things come to an end, it signifies the beginning of something else.  We just have to be open to whatever is next. Life is always an adventure, so let's learn to enjoy the journey and see where it takes us!

This painting was created with painted papers, stencils, pine needles, vintage sheet music, and of course, layers and layers of paint!  It measures 36X36 and is on gallery wrapped canvas.  It is finished with a resin coating, which makes the colors "pop" and eliminates the need for framing.  This piece comes ready to hang.

For comments, questions, or if you are interested in purchasing, please email me at:
saltlightwatercolors@yahoo.com.

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"Wild and Precious Life", Original Mixed Media Painting by Colorado Artist, Donna L. Martin

"Wild and Precious Life"

This is an original mixed media painting I created, fresh off the easel.  The inspiration for this piece was to strive every day to live an authentic life and find joy in the chaos of a very ordinary life.  The quote on the piece is from one of my favorite poets, Mary Oliver, and reads, "Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"  This piece was created with acrylics, inks, and painted papers.

This one is available.  Please feel free to email me with questions or comments.

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"Into the Mystic", Original Mixed Media Abstract Painting by Colorado Artist, Donna L. Martin

"Into the Mystic"

This is an original Mixed Media Abstract Painting, fresh off the easel.  It was inspired by the soothing, but powerful ocean waves.  I usually struggle with abstract painting, but this one just flowed.  

This piece was done with alcohol inks, acrylics, molding paste, and has textural elements of sea glass and broken windshield glass within the focal point.  I borrowed the title of this painting from Van Morrison's song, Into the Mystic.  It just seemed appropriate for this painting!

This piece is available.  It measures 36 X 24 X 1.5, done on a birch cradle board surface.  It is finished with resin, which makes the colors "pop".  It comes ready to hang.

Feel free to email me with questions, comments, or if you are interested in purchasing.

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"Circle of Life", Original Mixed Media Painting by Colorado Artist, Donna L. Martin

"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 felt like the bird faded into the background.  Then, she began to evolve, patiently, and became more beautiful and interesting with each stroke of paint and each layer.  

Close up of Bird and Texture on Leaves

Close up of Bird

This little painting is 12X12 and 1.5" deep.  It is available and comes ready to hang.

Feel free to send me questions or comments, or if you are interested in purchasing.

saltlightwatercolors@yahoo.com

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"Happy in Bloom", Original Mixed Media Painting by Colorado Artist, Donna L. Martin

Happy in Bloom

This is one of my latest pieces.  It was done on a recycled wood pallet with inks, acrylics, and painted papers.  This was so much fun to do!  I love the way the wood grain shows through portions of the paint and ink.

This one is sold, but commissions are welcome.  Feel free to email me with questions or comments!

saltlightwatercolors@yahoo.com

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"Sunshine Day", Original Mixed Media Painting by Colorado Artist, Donna L. Martin

"Sunshine Day"

I feel like I'm "painting happy" again!  This is another fun, whimsical poppy painting, fresh off the easel.  It was done with acrylic inks, paint, and hand-painted paper.  It measures 12 X 12 X 1.5 and is painted on a birch cradle board canvas.  It is finished with resin and comes ready to hang.  

If you need a little sunshine, this painting is available!  Please feel free to email me with any questions, comments, or if you are interested in purchasing.

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“Poppy Love Letters”, Original Mixed Media Painting by Colorado Artist, Donna L. Martin

"Poppy Love Letters"

This painting sure didn't end up like it started out!  In the beginning, it had bright pink flowers at the top and bright green grass at the bottom.  I toned down the flowers and the grass and decided I wanted poppies as the focal point. I added some painted, torn paper and some twine.  This one sat on the easel for months before I decided what to do with it.  Sometimes you just have to sit with something until you figure out where it wants to go!

This piece measures 12 X 12 and was done on a 1.5" cradle board.  It is available.  Please feel free to send me an email with questions, comments, or if you are interested in purchasing.

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"Sweet Dreams", Original Mixed Media Painting by Colorado Artist, Donna L. Martin

"Sweet Dreams"

This painting is fresh off the easel!  Mom and her baby are sleeping among the trees.  It has many layers and was done with paint and acrylic inks.  It was an intuitive painting inspired by the painting styles of Tracy Verdugo and Juliette Crane.  

It is on a deep gallery wrapped canvas and measures 24 X 24.  This painting is available.  Please feel free to send me an email with any questions, comments, or if you are interested in purchasing.  I really love to hear from you!

saltlightwatercolors@yahoo.com

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"It’s a Beautiful Day", Original Mixed Media Painting by Colorado Artist, Donna L. Martin

"It's a Beautiful Day"

This tree and little bird emerged as I was attempting to do some "intuitive" painting.  I took a class a few months ago from the fabulous artist, Tracy Verdugo, to learn how to do this style and technique of painting.  Boy, has is been challenging for me!  I truly, truly love it though ~ you never know where you are going when you start out or where you will finish.  Below are some pictures of the evolution of this piece.

To start out, I divided the canvas up into squares and chose some colors I wanted to use.  Some squares were dark, some lighter.  The images and marks I made are symbolic to me.  I had just returned from a trip to the ocean and had never seen water that beautiful.  It totally inspired me!

In this step, I added acrylic inks over the entire piece.  Cool colors on one side, warmer colors on the opposite side.  You can see how some of the marks still show through.

This is the tricky and most challenging part for me.  I am trying to see what forms or what images may appear on the canvas.  I turned it sideways and upside down to see if I could spot something.  Low and behold, a faint image of the wings appeared and it seemed to be the perfect shape for a bird.

In this next step, I painted out some of the parts of the painting that weren't necessary to the composition, but still left a hint of the layers underneath.  I just love this!

Low and behold, this is the completed piece.

This piece is fresh off the easel.  It has vibrant, beautiful hues of turquoise, blues, and greens with pinches of orange, pink, yellow, and white.  It measures 24 X 24 on a gallery wrapped canvas.  It is available for purchase.  

If you have questions, comments, or are interested in purchasing, please feel free to contact me at saltlightwatercolors@yahoo.com.  You can also browse my website at donnamartinfineart.com and follow me on Facebook.

Original Mixed Media Painting, "Butterflies Are Free", by Colorado Artist, Donna L. Martin

"Butterflies Are Free"

This piece is a result of an online workshop called "Animalitos" by artist, Tracy Verdugo.  These types of paintings are really a challenge for me.  Usually I have an idea of where I'm going when I start a painting, but these are really intuitive paintings.  It starts out with bright colors of inks and paints, using symbols and marks that have meaning.  You can see below how this started out.  

Then the idea is to pick out some shapes or forms in the piece....turn it upside down, sideways, etc. to "see" what might be there.  When I was making my marks and symbols, I used a wing stencil.  I began to think that it might make for a pretty butterfly wing.  I honestly couldn't see anything else, which is a major challenge for me in doing this type of work!

So I began blocking out the form of the butterfly.  As soon as I started that, I knew it needed some kind of flower to land on, so I added more beautiful inks in orange and red.  When that dried, I started blocking out some shapes on the wings and flower with india ink and a tiny, tiny brush.  Below is a close up of the finished piece.

The lesson I keep learning in doing these types of paintings is to enjoy the process without worrying about the outcome.  Sort of goes with my intention of living in the moment and enjoying the adventure.  It's crazy what happens when you have no expectations and just let it go!

I am contemplating pouring resin over it so the colors pop even more!  I named the piece "Butterflies Are Free", but I'm not committed to that yet, since this is fresh off the easel.  I may need to think about it a little more, but couldn't wait to share the process with you!  

This little piece is done on an 8X8 gallery wrapped canvas. It is available.  Please contact me with question, comments, or if you are interested in purchasing.  I always love to hear from you!

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Original Mixed Media Painting, "Blossom", by Colorado Mixed Media Artist, Donna L. Martin

Blossom

This is one of my first Mixed Media pieces titled "Blossom". This piece means alot to me - a whirlwind of emotions were poured in and and came out of this one!

I didn't want her to be "realistic", but more "whimsical".  I had a great time creating her.  I used alot of different items to create texture and depth in this piece. Her hair is made out of twine. I glued each individual piece on and painted each strand. Her wings are made out of broken glass. At first, she had dark brown eyes, but they just didn't give the viewer the effect I wanted, so I glazed green iridescent paint over the brown. Her eyes change colors between green and brown, depending on the viewers angle. I used molding paste and painted various papers to add into the composition.

Broken glass added to make "wings".

I decided I needed to add some text to complete my thoughts about this one.  I found some vintage sheet music and tore each individual letter out to complete my phrase.  Some of that old sheet music and lettering is just beautiful and I wanted to capture that.  The text reads, "And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to Blossom."

  

Text from vintage sheet music.

The piece was completed with a resin coating, which made the colors and textures "pop".  It turned out to be a beautiful piece.


The original piece is sold, but prints are available in various sizes. View more of my work at http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-donna-martin.html

For questions or comments, please feel free to contact me at: saltlightwatercolors@yahoo.com

www.donnamartinfineart.com

"Grace Transcendent", Original Mixed Media Painting, by Donna L. Martin

"Grace Transcendent"

This is an original mixed media painting that was a result of an online class by artist Kate Thompson called "Fractured Angels".  I was so nervous, taking an online class, but I ended up loving it.

Below is a photo of the "work in progress".

This painting was done on a 1.5" deep cradle board and measures 20 X 20.  It was created using acrylics, inks, paper, plaster, stencils, and molding paste.  She is finished and available to purchase.  Please send me a quick email if you have questions, comments, or are interested in purchasing.  I would love to hear from you!

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"Transformation", Original Mixed Media Painting by Colorado Artist, Donna L. Martin

"Transformation"

Finished!

Beginning

First Stages

 This painting came about from a workshop that I took from an amazing artist, Tracy Verdugo.  It was quite a process and to tell the truth, it sat at home for almost a month after the workshop, I finally grabbed enough courage to finish it on my own.  I struggled and struggled and it went through many, many layers. When I finally stopped concentrating on the outcome and started enjoying the process, Ta Da...it was done!

This piece measures 30 X 30, standard depth.  Please feel free to email me with questions, comments, or if you are interested in purchasing.

saltlightwatercolors@yahoo.com

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