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Artist Bio: Lois Donaghey
I grew up in the small California Sierra village of Blue Canyon. Both my mother and brother were artists. I have been a life-long student of art making, and am often enrolled at San Francisco Art Institute taking painting, metal sculpting, and print making courses. I usually paint with oils or acrylics, although I do enjoy making digital paintings, as well as working in other mediums. These are some of the Juried shows I have been lucky enough to get into. My awards are also included here:
-San Francisco Women Artists’ Gallery “Edge of Abstraction” November 2022 Juror’s Choice Award
-San Francisco Women Artists’ Gallery “Intense Color” May 2022; Juror’s Choice Award
-Triton Museum of Art’s statewide 2D Art Competition & Exhibition-Santa Clara, CA; 2021; jurors: Jeff Bramschreiber, Elke Groves, and Francisco Pancho Jiménez
-Falkirk Cultural Museum-San Rafael, “Summer 2021 Juried Show”
-Crocker/Kingsley National Art Competition, 2021, Juror: Carrie Lederer
-San Francisco Women Artists’ Gallery “Scapes” April, 2021.
-San Francisco Women Artists’ Gallery “Abstract Thinking” August 2020 Juror Philip M Bewley
-San Francisco Open Studios, ArtSpan SF, 2020
-Sonoma County Art Trails, Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 2020
-San Francisco Women Artists Gallery “Hidden Figures” -Open Exhibition March 2020, Juror: Shintani
San Francisco Women Artists Gallery “Out of the Box” February 2020 Annette Schultz Juror
-San Francisco Women Artists Gallery “2020 Leap Year” Open January 2020 Juror: Ashley Voss
-O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, Mill Valley, CA “Pixels to Print” September 2019
-TWIRL Project – A Decade of Artist Interviews “artists blossoming over Time.
-NUMU Los Gatos AA, “Greater Bay Area Open” July-Sept 2019 Juror: Ric Ambrose
-Sonoma County Art Trails, Sebastopol Center for the Arts, Oct 2019
I grew up in the small California Sierra village of Blue Canyon. Both my mother and brother were artists. I have been a life-long student of art making, and am often enrolled at San Francisco Art Institute taking painting, metal sculpting, and print making courses. I usually paint with oils or acrylics, although I do enjoy making digital paintings, as well as working in other mediums. These are some of the Juried shows I have been lucky enough to get into. My awards are also included here:
-San Francisco Women Artists’ Gallery “Edge of Abstraction” November 2022 Juror’s Choice Award
-San Francisco Women Artists’ Gallery “Intense Color” May 2022; Juror’s Choice Award
-Triton Museum of Art’s statewide 2D Art Competition & Exhibition-Santa Clara, CA; 2021; jurors: Jeff Bramschreiber, Elke Groves, and Francisco Pancho Jiménez
-Falkirk Cultural Museum-San Rafael, “Summer 2021 Juried Show”
-Crocker/Kingsley National Art Competition, 2021, Juror: Carrie Lederer
-San Francisco Women Artists’ Gallery “Scapes” April, 2021.
-San Francisco Women Artists’ Gallery “Abstract Thinking” August 2020 Juror Philip M Bewley
-San Francisco Open Studios, ArtSpan SF, 2020
-Sonoma County Art Trails, Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 2020
-San Francisco Women Artists Gallery “Hidden Figures” -Open Exhibition March 2020, Juror: Shintani
San Francisco Women Artists Gallery “Out of the Box” February 2020 Annette Schultz Juror
-San Francisco Women Artists Gallery “2020 Leap Year” Open January 2020 Juror: Ashley Voss
-O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, Mill Valley, CA “Pixels to Print” September 2019
-TWIRL Project – A Decade of Artist Interviews “artists blossoming over Time.
-NUMU Los Gatos AA, “Greater Bay Area Open” July-Sept 2019 Juror: Ric Ambrose
-Sonoma County Art Trails, Sebastopol Center for the Arts, Oct 2019
Published on March 19th, 2023. Artist responses collected in months previous.
What are you fascinated with right now?
Lately I find myself fascinated with how my COVID fears, and then getting it, has pole vaulted my artwork to new directions. Last year I found myself in love with adding gold leaf to my floral paintings, which I am still doing. But today, I mostly find myself deeply and flirtatiously in love with adding cold wax medium to my oils and working from a much more imaginative space. I call this imaginative space my art place of freedom. I have often entered this space of freedom, but I have rarely visited for long before being pulled back to art-making with a more realism slant. I am here now though and I love it here. And, I love it now.
What advice would you give your younger artist self?
To my younger artist-self I say “look at yourself as a near 80-year-old female artist. Look at how successful you have become just since retiring (at age 69) from that career you had as a school psychologist. Think of what artistic growth you might have made had you accepted your offer for MA in Fine Arts at UC instead of that ‘safe’ MA in Psychology. Ah yes, you were a very committed single mother at a time when it was not acceptable and when there was much pressure to remarry to provide your son a ‘good home’. My advice to you is to trust yourself more. You know your heart. Buck up and do what you really need, what your Spirit really needs. Peel off those layers of fear and guilt. Peel away those layers of thick goo that others pile on you to make you be like them, which you are not. You are you and you will find a way to be successful. Make art NOW. Don’t wait until you are old and gray.”
What are your tools for creative resilience these days? Do you have any methods to stay positive when life becomes difficult and perhaps when you have limited time to create?
My tools for creative resilience, resilience in general really, lies in my meditation sessions. During those times that I feel overwhelmed, I remind myself to meditate more. Being in meditation is one of the blessings of being very mature and still being very busy, yet being physically in a space where long sleep sessions at night is illusive. Overwhelm makes me wake during early morning hours. And when unsettled during these early morning hours, I tend to grab for my headphones and meditate. Many of my meditation sessions are really painting sessions that I later put on canvas. I love meditating and I love finding new paintings when I’m in that space. It’s really an amazing space. I can see myself painting. I can see the painting as it unfolds, and I know exactly what the painting is all about. I know it’s story! My meditations strengthen my resilience.
What is your dreamy vision for your creative career and art practice three years from now?
Although I still equate artistic success with dollar signs and success in gallery sales and awards, most of the time I can keep this whole idea out of my head. But honestly, this is a tough one. I’ve been so blessed with my brief art career. I’ve had good private and group instruction. I’ve received awards for my artwork. And, I’ve been so fortunate to be accepted into unbelievably great exhibits/competitions. BUT my dreamy vision for three years from now is to be financially successful (just enough) and more importantly to me, to be known in the ‘art world’ as a good artist. To be recognized as a good contemporary artist. That’s me dreaming.
How are you being kind to yourself as you look towards realizing your vision for your art career?
I pamper myself by having someone clean my house twice monthly, so that I’m freer to paint at will. I pamper myself by going to art events, openings and museums. I pamper myself by meeting new artists, listening to their life stories and their art stories, and by sharing my art tools with them. I pamper myself by trying to hear the artist in every person I know and converse with. It’s sort of like the giving of love is really getting love back. For me Art is LOVE…..it’s the act of showing the world your love, the love inside you, the love you have for all humankind, showing the world your Soul. That’s what I see when I view other artists’ artwork.
What are you fascinated with right now?
Lately I find myself fascinated with how my COVID fears, and then getting it, has pole vaulted my artwork to new directions. Last year I found myself in love with adding gold leaf to my floral paintings, which I am still doing. But today, I mostly find myself deeply and flirtatiously in love with adding cold wax medium to my oils and working from a much more imaginative space. I call this imaginative space my art place of freedom. I have often entered this space of freedom, but I have rarely visited for long before being pulled back to art-making with a more realism slant. I am here now though and I love it here. And, I love it now.
What advice would you give your younger artist self?
To my younger artist-self I say “look at yourself as a near 80-year-old female artist. Look at how successful you have become just since retiring (at age 69) from that career you had as a school psychologist. Think of what artistic growth you might have made had you accepted your offer for MA in Fine Arts at UC instead of that ‘safe’ MA in Psychology. Ah yes, you were a very committed single mother at a time when it was not acceptable and when there was much pressure to remarry to provide your son a ‘good home’. My advice to you is to trust yourself more. You know your heart. Buck up and do what you really need, what your Spirit really needs. Peel off those layers of fear and guilt. Peel away those layers of thick goo that others pile on you to make you be like them, which you are not. You are you and you will find a way to be successful. Make art NOW. Don’t wait until you are old and gray.”
What are your tools for creative resilience these days? Do you have any methods to stay positive when life becomes difficult and perhaps when you have limited time to create?
My tools for creative resilience, resilience in general really, lies in my meditation sessions. During those times that I feel overwhelmed, I remind myself to meditate more. Being in meditation is one of the blessings of being very mature and still being very busy, yet being physically in a space where long sleep sessions at night is illusive. Overwhelm makes me wake during early morning hours. And when unsettled during these early morning hours, I tend to grab for my headphones and meditate. Many of my meditation sessions are really painting sessions that I later put on canvas. I love meditating and I love finding new paintings when I’m in that space. It’s really an amazing space. I can see myself painting. I can see the painting as it unfolds, and I know exactly what the painting is all about. I know it’s story! My meditations strengthen my resilience.
What is your dreamy vision for your creative career and art practice three years from now?
Although I still equate artistic success with dollar signs and success in gallery sales and awards, most of the time I can keep this whole idea out of my head. But honestly, this is a tough one. I’ve been so blessed with my brief art career. I’ve had good private and group instruction. I’ve received awards for my artwork. And, I’ve been so fortunate to be accepted into unbelievably great exhibits/competitions. BUT my dreamy vision for three years from now is to be financially successful (just enough) and more importantly to me, to be known in the ‘art world’ as a good artist. To be recognized as a good contemporary artist. That’s me dreaming.
How are you being kind to yourself as you look towards realizing your vision for your art career?
I pamper myself by having someone clean my house twice monthly, so that I’m freer to paint at will. I pamper myself by going to art events, openings and museums. I pamper myself by meeting new artists, listening to their life stories and their art stories, and by sharing my art tools with them. I pamper myself by trying to hear the artist in every person I know and converse with. It’s sort of like the giving of love is really getting love back. For me Art is LOVE…..it’s the act of showing the world your love, the love inside you, the love you have for all humankind, showing the world your Soul. That’s what I see when I view other artists’ artwork.
Find Lois Donaghey on Instagram
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