“Dragons Soar”, by Colorado Artist, Donna L. Martin

Dragons Soar

This is the latest little painting I completed.  It's the time of the year I've been thinking about family, getting out in the warm sunshine, planting flowers, breathing in the fresh air.  I named it "Dragons Soar" because I have a little sign in my garden that says "In my garden, hearts soar and dragons fly." 

In thinking about the dragonfly and creating this piece, I found this interesting symbolism.  The dragonfly normally lives most of its life as a nymph or an immature. It flies only for a fraction of its life and usually not more than a few months. This adult dragonfly does it all in these few months and leaves nothing to be desired. This style of life symbolizes and exemplifies the virtue of living IN the moment and living life to the fullest. By living in the moment you are aware of who you are, where you are, what you are doing, what you want, what you don’t and are able to make informed choices on a moment-to-moment basis.

This ability lets you live your life without regrets like the great dragonfly.  This week, this day, are you living in the moment?

Here are some pictures of how this painting started out and went through the process.

This painting literally sat in my art studio for over a year, untouched.  I did NOT like how it was turning out and couldn't figure out what to do with it.  The sides and the bottom of it were painted bright red.  Really...who does that...FIRE ENGINE red!  I toned it down with some white.  The top background underneath the dragonfly is some really beautiful turquoise paper that I found and altered.

I continued doing more alterations to the paper behind the dragonfly.  I added some iridescent orange...man those iridescent paints are gorgeous!  Started adding some blue over the white paint at the bottom and sides to try to tie it all together.

Here I began to add more turquoise to the painting, again to try to tie it together, and because I LOVE turquoise.

And...TaDa...I think it is done!

This little painting is 8 X 8 X 1.5 found a home here in Colorado.  It was finished with a resin coating, which eliminates the need for framing.  If you have comments or comments, please contact me at:

saltlightwatercolors@yahoo.com. 

You can check out my other work at:

http://donnamartinfineart.com/   

“Infinity”, Original Mixed Media Painting/Encaustic by Colorado Artist, Donna L. Martin

Infinity

In the midst of winter, I start dreaming about spring.  It's the time for renewal, new starts, new colors, new choices.  I always look forward to the flowers blooming and the warm sunshine blowing around in the spring winds.  

This piece is a reflection of my feelings about spring and the hummingbirds that come to visit us every year.  It truly is a mixed media piece...it has so many layers and mediums.  For the background, I used a vintage hankie that had a flower stitched into it.  I then added gesso and plaster.  I used an image transfer for the hummingbird and formed the flowers in watercolor, graphite, and intense pencils.  I added some watered-down paint in the background to give it a vintage-feel.  Finally, I finished it off with a layer of encaustic wax, which gave it a dream-like quality.

This little piece will be available soon in an upcoming auction on Facebook.  The link for the auction is:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/soulsistersunited

I would love to hear from you!  You can send me an email at:

saltlightwatercolors@yahoo.com

www.donnamartinfineart.com
     

"Take These Broken Wings", Original Mixed Media Painting by Colorado Artist, Donna L. Martin

"Take These Broken Wings"

Sometimes we feel lost, broken, and so alone.  We feel like we've lost the ability to "fly", to find the joy, the ability to be grateful and see the good in the world.  It's almost as though we look in the mirror and don't recognize the shadow looking back at us. Sometimes, we need people to help us recreate our broken wings, to transform them into something different, something beautiful.  We need the random kindness of a stranger, a smile from the person behind the counter, almost as much as we need the people that know us the best and love us anyway.  Let's face it, there is much brokenness in the world.  People are hurting, people are searching, people are crying alone in the darkness of the night.  My question to you is, can you be a light?  Can you give someone a smile or say hello, even thought we are all different?  Can you make a difference in someone's life and be a step to mending broken wings?  I believe we all can.  One, small act of kindness at a time.  

“Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” 

Hebrews 13:2

This piece is a tribute to all those special souls who help us heal and help us to fly again. It was created with many layers of paper, paint, and inks.  The edges have raised texture and it is kissed by a touch of iridescent paint...it glows when the light catches it.

This little painting will be available during an upcoming auction...below is the link to the site:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/soulsistersunited/

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments!

saltlightwatercolors@yahoo.com

www.donnamartinfineart.com

"Magic in the Mess", Original Mixed Media Painting by Colorado Artist, Donna L. Martin

"Magic in the Mess"

As with everyone, there always seems to be some mess, some drama going on in life.  This painting evolved through the messes.  It had several "ugly duckling" stages.  I almost wanted to trash it and start all over again - several times.  Just when I thought it was not salvageable, this butterfly started making it's way into the piece.  Almost as if coming out of its cocoon.  It ended up being one of my favorite paintings, one of my favorite "stories". 

It was created with several layers of paint, inks, painted papers, and modeling paste. 

This piece is available.  I'd love to hear from you if you have any comments or questions!  My email is:  

saltlightwatercolors@yahoo.com

www.donnamartinfineart.com

https://www.facebook.com/donnamartinfineart/

"Cherish This Life", Original Mixed Media Painting by Colorado Artist, Donna L. Martin

"Cherish This Life"

We recently lost someone very special to us.  My Father-in-Law, Mikey, was Italian, to the core.  He grew up in North Denver, in what was known as little Italy.  He worked at an Italian Bakery for much of his life and he fought in WWII, in Normandy.  He knew the Italian Mob Bosses in Denver, worked hard to raise his family, and he loved to gamble in Vegas.  He was pretty good at it too. He also loved to go dancing.  He went dancing almost every Saturday night up until about 4 months ago.  

I know if we could talk to him again, he would tell us to live this life and appreciate it, because it is short.  As I've said before, this life is just a whisper of time.  So this is for you, Mikey, for a life well-lived and well-loved...we will cherish you and the life you lived forever.

This piece was created as a reminder to "Cherish This Life".  It was done with many layers of paint, inks, and painted paper.  The heart in the middle was cut from a vintage ceiling tile.  When the light catches it, you can see the hints of iridescent gold paint sprinkled throughout the painting.  The words, "Cherish This Life" are embedded into the painting.  It is framed in a gold and black floater frame.

www.donnamartinfineart

saltlightwatercolors@yahoo.com

www.facebook.com/donnamartinfineart/