Artist

Biography

Donna Theresa

ARTIST STATEMENT

“As an emerging artist, I am choosing to see my surroundings differently. Whereas before I glimpsed at the face of my loved one or a stranger on the street,an everyday apple or pear, or the hazy hills in the distance; today I see shape, value, texture, movement, and thus emotion and narrative. I imagine how I might render these observations and then I practice…. I do not surrender to the voice of comparison. I carry on in a spirit of curiosity and gratitude that I may find my way. On that journey, I ultimately find a part of myself undiscovered.”

BIO

DonnaTheresa came to her current artistic fervor following the first stroke of a soft pastel stick on an ordinary piece of Canson pastel paper in a community college class. DonnaTheresa had been dabbling in drawing classes with a focus on figure drawing from a live model. This particular semester, she was introduced to the world of color through the pastel medium and the obsession grew from there. That was a little over two years ago. Working in the pastel medium started out slowly but has since grown into a daily professional practice.
DonnaTheresa is a fine artist living in Santa Cruz, Ca. Her roots began in Los Angeles where she grew up and lived until 1988. After graduating from nursing school and working for a year in the city of her birth, she made her exodus and travelled and worked in her field. She practiced her career in nursing for 10 solid years before starting a family. Now the children are grown and off to college and she finds herself at the easel everyday. Everything is good in the world with a stick of chalk in her hands! Mostly, DonnaTheresa is drawn to landscapes but recently is inspired by figures in nature and the occasional still life.
DonnaTheresa is mostly self taught . She has taken instruction from master pastelist Marla Baggetta. She has juried into a number national and international pastel exhibitions to date and continues to compete at this level as she considers it a way to “step up her game.” Viewing life through artist’s eyes has brought great joy her. It is with gratitude that she shares this joy with you.

EXHIBITIONS
Pastel Society of Colorado / 15th Annual Mile High National Pastel Exhibition
May 11 - June 29 2019
-Pastel Society of the West Coast / Pastels USA International Open ExhibitionPastel
May 16 - July 14 2019
-Society of Southern California/ Pastel at the Ebell
April - May 2019
-California Central Coast Pastel Society 1st Spring Exhibition
April 2019
-Pastel Society of the West Coast : Online Member Juried Exhibition
February 2019
-89th Annual Statewide California Lanscape Exhibition
March - April 2019
-Central Coast Plein Air Painters Exhibition: Art, Love, and Wine
February 2019 Awarded Third Place
-Pikes Peak Pastel Society "The Color of Light"
Jan 12 - May 5 2019
-Fourth Annual Capitola Plein Air Paint Out
Nov 1 – 4 2018
-Open Studios Art Tour Santa Cruz County
Oct 6-7 & Oct 20-21 2018
-Santa Cruz Art League ; Planet Pulse – A National Art Exhibit
August 10 – September 9, 2018
-Pastel Society of North Carolina – Pure Color 2018 National Exhibition
Aug – Sept 2018
-Spotlight Gallery Solo Show ;Santa Cruz Art League
July 6 – August 3, 2018
-Sierra Pastel Society 12th Biannual PASTEL-ON-HIGH Internantional Exhibit
July 24 – August 12, 2018
-The Pastel Society of Colorado
14th Annual Mile High National Pastel Exhibition
July 12 – August 27, 2018
-2018 Northeast National Pastel Exhibition
June 23 – July 29, 2018

-Pacific Grove Library “Built for Books”
April – July 2018
-Pastel Society of Southeast Texas: Art of the Pastel National Exhibition
April/ May 2018
-Arizona Pastel Artists Association: 2018 Open Juried Pastel Exhibition
March/ April 2018
-Central Coast Plein Air Painters Exhibition: Art, Love, and Wine
February 2018 ~Excellence in Pastel Award

MEMBERSHIP

International Association of Pastel Societies
Pastel Society of the West Coast
Santa Cruz Art League
California Art Club
California Central Coast Pastel Society
Pastel Society of Southern California

Organization(s)

California Art Club, Pastel Society of the West Coast