I've been wanting to find opportunities to get involved with the arts community so I can make connections and learn from others in the area. And several weeks ago, my drawing teacher, Blake Smith, came to me with just such a chance. This last weekend, November 11-13, Greenville had its annual Greenville Open Studios event, and they were looking for volunteers at their headquarters! As a volunteer I would work at their front desk telling people about the event, recording sales, etc.
When I called about volunteering, they were already full, but they were very kind to put me in contact with an artist who was looking for a volunteer at her own studio. This artist was Donna Weathers, and I loved getting to spend most of Saturday with her! It was so neat to see inside an artist's studio, ask some questions about her work, get a behind-the-scenes look on creating, packaging/displaying, and selling artwork. I was mostly there to give her the chance to take breaks without leaving the studio empty and welcome new visitors when she was talking with others, but I also was able to help out with some small details like making price tags and putting backboards in with the prints. While there, I also had the chance to very briefly meet Mike Vatalaro, who had previously taught both my drawing and design professors, so that was pretty neat!
In the time before talking with visitors, I had the chance to ask Donna about some of her work and her career as an artist.
When did you start drawing and painting?
I've been drawing as long as I can remember. I went to college to major in drama, and I took a couple drawing classes. That's when the light bulb went off! I moved to LA, hoping to be an actress, and I was drawing on the side. At one point I made a drawing of a pipe as a gift for someone, and he asked why I wanted to be an actress. I started doing other commissions for people.
I realized that I really liked singular objects like figures and animals rather than whole landscapes. I tried out classes in watercolor, charcoal, and oils. I sold small commissions of pets and portraits about 20 years ago. Then I came across an artist who painted abstract figures in acrylics that I absolutely loved. That's when I started this style that I have now. I also found that I love collage using layers of book pages, house paint, and varnish, scraping some away to give it some texture, and sometimes painting figures on top of that background.
At this point I was working at a law firm and painting on the weekends, but I really wanted to put more time into painting, so I started working part-time at the law firm, and this worked out really well for me. I just moved back to this area a year ago.
What colors do you generally use in your paintings?
I love blues and greens, and they show up a lot in my work. I also use a lot of this burnt orange, yellow ochre, and sometimes pink.
Personally, I loved her color palettes. Her colors are vivid and bold without being garish and too bright. Especially the minty color that shows up in a lot of her work is beautifully vivid and soothing at the same time, and the burnt orange adds warmth while still fitting the calm feel of a lot of her pieces.
Another aspect of her work that I loved was her balance of abstraction and realism. Most of her backgrounds were purely abstract, and the colors of the figures were very abstract, but the forms in general were very recognizable as human figures. Overall, I thought it created a beautiful effect where you could really see the artist's hand in the work.
Without further ado, here are some photos from her studio!
She had a mix of original work and prints available, as well as business cards with various pieces printed on them.
I so enjoyed the chance to spend the day with Donna, helping her wherever needed and learning about her work and methods. Hopefully I will have the chance to keep working with her and other artists as I get settled in the area!
See more of Donna Weathers' work here!