In October 2017 I realized that I had painted nearly every single day for seven years. Seven years. IN A ROW! wow. So you know what I did? I freaked out a little and put down the brushes. I spent a year with just a pencil and my outrage at the "Toddler in Chief" and the endless crew of morons he appointed to rape and pillage the country. It helped me cope with the fact that we are a very young country, where greed is king and until the rich and the racists die out, an unhealthy country at best. The outrage continues but I needed to shift my focus for my own sanity. I've spent the last year with a sharpie marker and a set of travelling watercolor paints (two sets actually), doing perhaps what I do best... wearing my heart on my sleeve while I continue to try and explain life to myself. I'm feeling the need to shift again. It feels like the colors are calling me. Change is hard. Change is growth. Wish me luck! I may not have something for you every day but the journey will continue. I appreciate your contributions to my story, your comments often inspire so thank you all.
http://www.healing-power-of-art.org/artist-donna-howard-fights-back-against-disease/
Here's a link to another interview I've done. This time with Renee Phillips of Manhattan Arts International. She was interested in how I use Art as a tool in my life.
In a recent magazine interview I was asked "Art often has the capacity for lasting influence and impression. Are there any works that have had an effect on you a long time after you first saw them?" I immediately remembered the day I realized Art was powerful...
Me: Absolutely, and I have no idea what the actual work was. But I’ll tell you the story of the day I realized Art was powerful – and hysterical. Mom and Dad decided dragging 5 kids under 8 to an art museum was a good idea. I vaguely remember the art or much of the day until I heard my 3-year-old brother’s laugh. Oh man it was a good one! A laugh that only a little kid can release – pure unadulterated joy! And it didn’t stop. I had to find my brother – he was in another room in the De Cordova museum. I turned the corner and there he was standing in front of a Wall-sized painting of a reclining nude woman. He stood there alone – little chunk of a kid- and laughed like a goon! I remember looking around the room. And the people were laughing too! They were laughing at Brian but way more than that – they were experiencing this little kid’s Art journey and enjoying it right along with him. It felt for a moment like everyone was connected to the painting. The entire scene couldn’t have lasted more than some seconds – I know now it was a pretty small museum back then and Mom and Dad swooped in, red faced, scooped him up and hustled him out. I was too young to really appreciate Fine Art but for some reason I was not too young to feel the connection in the room that day and know that Art is amazing. (And Hysterical!)
Artist run websites was kind enough to give me this write up in their Blog. Thank you!
http://www.artistrunwebsite.com/blog/2244/Obsessive+Geometric+Backgrounds%3A+Art+by+Donna+Howard
It's been a busy summer! I'm still working on my series "My Life As A Chicken" and as much as I'd like to be finished with it, I think this is a series I'll add to for the rest of my life. I've done an interview with the UK publication Peripheral ARTeries. Please have a look.
https://issuu.com/artpress/docs/p.arteries_81/22
Thanks to everyone who participated! E. Scott Phillips is our puzzle winner!
Puzzle Time - Win A Puzzle! GUESSING ENDS TONIGHT. I'LL ANNOUNCE THE WINNER ON MONDAY 7/31 AROUND 5PM EST
The rules are easy - Use my website to guess which painting this piece comes from. Send me your answer through the contact page, and on JULY 31 I'll pick from the winning entries. BIG HINT: This is from a 2017 work!
FYI If you'd like to get occasional postcards of my work in the mail, leave your address as well! Good Luck and have fun!!!
donna-howard.com
The Puzzle looks awesome!
It's puzzle time again and this time the prize is an actual puzzle! The rules are easy - Use my website to guess which painting this piece comes from. Send me your answer through the contact page, and on JULY 31 I'll pick from the winning entries.
FYI If you'd like to get occasional postcards of my work in the mail, leave your address as well! Good Luck and have fun!!
