Donna Gilbertson - Australian Artist
Donna has been involved in the arts almost all her life. Coming from an artistic family she was encouraged from an early age growing up in the Sydney suburb of Revesby to draw, dance and sing.
Donna decided in the 70’s to pursue a career on the stage after realising that serious ballet just wasn’t fulfilling her need to perform. After touring with a few shows including the original Lloyd Webber production of “Jesus Christ Superstar” Donna took a right turn into motherhood. And that changed her life forever.
It wasn’t until Donna took a job at a picture framer’s in 1984 that she began to think about the arts again. Donna experimented with oils and landscapes at first selling them at local charity art shows. She began exploring pencil sketching and developed a close relationship with pencil sketch artist Ron Driscoll, this too led to her life long love of the bush. But Donna missed “colour” and moved into pastels and watercolour pencils.
Stuck for a subject to enter the still life section in a local art show and not keen on painting flowers or fruit Donna painted a row of old teddy bears and raggedy clowns as her subject matter. This humble painting not only won a prize but sold! So began a decade of teddy bear paintings.
By this time Donna had a thriving picture framing and gallery business at Baulkham Hills, a north west suburb of Sydney and it wasn’t until the mid 90s that Donna began experimenting with acrylics, by this time she was selling well in art galleries and shows with both her teddy paintings and circus clown portraits. During this time Donna expanded into licensed product.
Due to Donna’s husband Col’s ill health in 1996 Donna closed the framing business and moved to the far south coast of NSW. Donna continued to produce licensed product from her bush studio and it was at this time she began teaching decorative artists her teddy fur techniques.
Another right turn saw Donna becoming more and more involved in the decorative art world having her projects published regularly in the Australian Decorative Art magazine and later her first book published by Viking Folk Art Publications in the US for the world wide market. Donna began travel teaching throughout Australia and overseas.
After a long battle Col’s big heart finally gave out in 2006 and after much thought Donna decided that the beauty of the south coast was a thing of the past. It was time to take another right turn!
Now living on the central coast of NSW close to daughter Shannon and her 4 wonderful grandchildren Donna is finally beginning to paint once more with the help of family and friends.
2008 is looking brighter and sunnier with Donna’s return to teaching. Donna is also exhibiting again for the first time in a number of years with an exhibition in July at Boyd Fine Art Gallery at Struggletown in July.
