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.
Donna closed the framing business and moved to the far south coast of NSW and 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 the death of her hussband in 2006 Donna decided that the beauty of the south coast was a thing of the past. and it was time to take another right turn!
It seemed the logical place to go to heal was the central coast of NSW to be close to daughter Shannon and her 4 wonderful grandchildren.
In 2008 Donna returned to her art, exhibiting again for the first time in a number of years with a major exhibition at Boyd Fine Art Gallery at Struggletown. She then began expanding into other areas painting on antique children's furniture, whimsical art in the Aussie Way of Life series and more.
Donna never really thought that her heart would be full again but out of the blue she met a wonderful man that made her smile once more. Together they have now relocated to Smithtown on the north coast of NSW overlooking the mighty Macleay River where she continues to be inspired by the colour of life.
