About the Artist

Porch Still Life

My work brings together love of color and pattern and joy in the beauty of people and ordinary objects – in all their shapes, sizes, and colors.

My first influence was my mother.  She had a couch upholstered in leopard, took me to dance performances, to art classes, and to the milliner who made her flowered hats.  She decorated her icebox cakes with fresh sweet peas and pink satin ribbon.  Growing up in Los Angeles in the 30’s and 40’s I loved the Mexican knickknacks sold on Olvera Street, the music on the Mexican radio stations, and those corny “Latin American” musicals – especially the ones with Carmen Miranda.

As a grownup my fascination with what is “different”, decorated, and intensely colored continued.  While practicing as a psychotherapist for 25 years, I traveled widely, focusing on the fine arts traditions of Europe and the arts  practiced in traditional cultures in the United States, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Asia.

When I  began studying at the Art Students League, I brought with me a very developed sense of color but less understanding of composition.  Studying under Knox Martin I have learned how to connect the elements in a painting.  This has allowed me to move away from naturalism toward a more complex patterning of the entire canvas, in which individuals and objects retain their characteristics at the same time that they are woven into a dynamic, unified whole.

The paintings in my most recent show “Unconventional Portraits“, all present figures embedded in environments.  While each is a portrait of a particular woman, the shapes and colors of the objects around her compliment her and are as important as she is.

If you are interested in my work you may contact me directly at (212) 366-9279 or at donnagould @ earthlink.net