Donna VanVleet
BIO AND ARTISTIC STATEMENT COMBINED

Born in Cleveland near Lake Erie, raised in Minnesota near Lake Superior, as well as in Michigan near Lakes Erie, Huron, and Michigan – I have known the influence of the Great Lakes for most of my life. It was impossible not to be drawn into the aura of the largest inland lakes in the United States. So, it seemed natural that watercolor became my primary mode of artistic expression.

After the birth of my second daughter, my serious work in watercolor began with U of M classes. Working with Harry Hefner, the head of the art department at Western Michigan University, I realized that this medium would be my forte. A group of us who had worked with Harry began exhibiting our work as "Harry’s Friends"

In 1975, my painting was awarded a statewide first prize in watercolor at Central Michigan University only two years after I focused on that medium. Several of my paintings were included in collections at Ferris State University and the Big Rapids Public Library. I was also honored to be invited by the FSU art faculty to exhibit in their annual shows. The Huguette Fisher Gallery in Muskegon, Michigan featured my work in a two woman show.

More recently my painting of a Great Blue Heron was given a first in watercolor by the Red Desert Audubon Society of Lander, Wyoming. An entry in the annual juried C. S. Lewis competition in Petoskey, Michigan garnered an award of excellence. The Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce featured my work in 2010.

After retiring from teaching high school art in Riverton,Wyoming, I have once again picked up my brushes to begin a second phase of professional work. My work crosses the boundaries between watercolor methods and those of other painting media. While honoring traditional techniques in principle, I allow the thematic scope of the work to suggest certain deviations.

After a lifetime of living in cold climates I decided to move to North Carolina to be near my daughter and her family. The extended and lush springs, the temperate falls, and easy winters
have been welcome dividends. I am a member of the Mooresville Art Guild and recently exhibited my work at the Lake Norman Studio Artists’ Tour.

The abstractions I create generally begin with a response to specific natural forms, be they flowers, trees, climatic phenomena, animal or human forms. However, photographic accuracy or representation are not my main focus. The reorganization of colors, shapes, textures, and lines attempts to elicit from the viewer a personal response. Often they are metamorphic–butterflies become suggestions of flowers, tree trunks suggest human forms, seashells suggest melodic patterns. As an artist I am most gratified when someone viewing a painting can be quoted as saying, "You reminded me of the feeling I had when I . . ."

Donna M. VanVleet