Featured Artist - October 2017

Donna Barati

Donna Barati grew up in Hawaii, a childhood filled with playing in bamboo forests, tidepools, and beaches, surrounded by tropical beauty. Her interest in art started early and was influenced, especially, by Monet and van Gogh, as well as expressionism.

Donna attended college at Hampshire College and U.C. Santa Cruz, then graduated from Sonoma State University with a B.A. in Humanities. Though Donna wanted to be a painter and poet, she started a gardening and landscaping business, expressing her love of color, nature, and design in the gardens where she worked. 

After a number of years raising a family, Donna has returned to painting, primarily using acrylics, incorporating both abstract and landscape elements in her art.  

Artist Statement

Donna paints primarily abstracts and landscapes. She says, "Though I often start painting intuitively, as the piece progresses, I ask, 'What is seen, unseen? What has been covered, yet influences the painting?'" As she continues painting, she also has a plan in mind -- thinking of composition, shape, and color. "I want to convey a feeling or an idea with an element of mystery," Donna explains. She contemplates the balance or deliberate lack thereof as well as the emotional capacity and stereotypes of color. Her use of color lends emotive power and expressiveness to the painting. 

She is currently working on her Graffiti Series, influenced by an edgy street art quality that adds energy to her paintings. She is also working on her Hope Series as a response to the difficult times in which we are living. "With the Hope Series, I wanted to bring social justice related, socio-politically relevant topics into the realm of fine art." 

Click here to visit the artist's website.