Today we’d like to introduce you to Donna Wisener.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’ve had quite the journey to becoming a full-time artist. I’ll begin this story with my career history. I had a corporate career for 27 years. I began working for a company in Nashville many years ago as a clerk/typist in what was then called the data processing department, and I commuted from Columbia for most of those years. It was a 54-mile drive from home to the office. During my career at this company, I took on more and more responsibility and advanced in various job roles. I was also raising two kids during most of these years, with a career where I had a lot of responsibility for people, budgets, projects and more. When I left in 2005, I was Vice President of the Information Technology department for that company. That period of my life was a very “left brain” period, and a period that left little time for creativity.
A significant step in my artistic journey was in 2007 when I did a watercolor workshop with a friend. That sparked something within me and led to the passion for painting I have today. At the time, I did not know this was the beginning of a new career. When I began painting, I was investing in rental property in Columbia. I was handling the maintenance, application process, etc. on these properties. In 2012 I started working with a real estate agent in a support role. By this time, I was also really getting into painting and loving it. I was showing and selling my artwork. As I painted more and more, I struggled with how to balance everything and how to best spend my time. I finally realized I had found my passion and made the decision to “go for it”. I left those businesses to pursue art full time. That was about eight years ago.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
There have been challenges along the way and as it is with other things in life, I continue to encounter challenges. I think one of the first significant challenges was balancing painting time with working and other life responsibilities. When I discovered I love to paint, I found myself wanting to spend as much time as possible creating. I painted when I could and I learned that any amount of time I spent painting, even if only 30 minutes, kept me in the creative mindset. It also kept me connected to my artwork and fed that creative hunger. To incorporate painting into my already busy life required asking myself questions and making choices. It still does. Maintaining a good life balance is a challenge for me.
I have had one real struggle. That was deciding when to “go for it”, and without it becoming a new stressful, all-consuming career. To be honest, I still struggle at times with this one. Once I realized that painting is my passion, I began immersing myself into it. It fed my soul, and I found myself getting lost in it for hours. I realized I love the process, and I kept playing, experimenting, researching, learning and trying new things. I wanted more and more. So, I reviewed my financial situation with a financial person. I looked at my “needs and wants” regarding income and expenses. I looked at what was essential and what wasn’t. I identified what could be adjusted. Keep in mind, I started painting later in life and had put some things in place for retirement. All of this gave me the confidence and made it easier to make the decision to become a fulltime artist. Now that I’m here, I’m constantly reminding myself it’s the painting process I love, and that’s where I want to spend a good portion of my time. That being said, making the decision to show and sell my art requires me to devote time to many other responsibilities and tasks, and these have to be managed. Progress, not perfection! 🙂
A challenge I’ve had while painting is to not over analyze, and to stay in the flow of what feels authentic. I’m learning to pay attention to what feels like “me” and to what lights me up. I try to keep the analytical part secondary to this. It’s truly difficult at times because I’m equally left brain/right brain.
Recently, I’ve prioritized keeping my studio space more organized. I love working on multiple pieces at once and this leads to canvases, paints, tools, etc spread out everywhere. The clutter would become overwhelming and was a negative impact to what/how I painted. It’s a challenge to devote more time to cleanup at the end of the day, but it’s well worth it. Organizing materials in clear, plastic bins and returning these to their space when finished painting has been huge! I’d like to say I do this each time I paint. I can’t. I will say I’ve come a long way with being more organized.
One last challenge I’ll mention is the tendency to compare to others and their artwork. Early on in this art journey, I found myself doing this quite a bit. I would look at others’ paintings and wonder why I couldn’t do that. I’d look at how many paintings someone was selling and again, I’d wonder why I wasn’t selling that many paintings. It went on and on. I’m happy to say I’ve made progress with this. I’m happier and more productive when I focus on my own painting practice. Instead of comparing to other artists, I want to learn from others. When I invest in learning from their knowledge, processes, techniques and experience, it helps me become a better artist. This mindset led me to incorporating workshops into my practice.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a contemporary abstract painter. While I go back from time to time to my first love of watercolor and occasionally work with oil paints, I generally create with acrylic and may incorporate various mediums, inks, wax crayons, oil pastels, oil sticks, colored pencils, graphite, charcoal, art markers, and collage paper- on canvas, wood panel, multimedia artboard, or paper. I primarily create layered, experimental contemporary artwork to connect with myself and others. I find joy in the process and am constantly challenging myself to try something new and different.
I draw inspiration primarily from nature, music and life experiences. My styles of paintings include impressionistic abstract landscapes, contemporary florals, moody/atmospheric paintings and expressionistic abstracts that typically include a variety of marks. I’ve recently started experimenting with figurative work. Each painting documents a moment in my personal journey and is an invitation for connection, as well as an opportunity for the viewer to reflect on his or her own life experiences.
I love being an artist! In addition to painting, I find great joy in connecting with, inspiring and encouraging others. There are two main components of my “WHY’. This first is that I want people who love original art to be able to own original art. The second is that I want to encourage others to go after whatever it is they have a passion for at any stage in life. This applies to individuals of all ages., kids, young adults, and adults my age and older. I love sharing my story, as I’m proof you can go after your passion at any age.
I’d say I’m most proud of myself for following my passion for painting, nurturing this passion, getting out of my comfort zone and taking risks. I think what sets me apart is my ability to create art in a wide variety of styles that’s authentically me. I’ve worked really hard at this. I strive to paint from within and bring that out onto the surface. I’m often told from individuals that my art speaks to them. This is the highest compliment, as this is the art I want to create.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
A book that’s been really good for me is The Mountain Is You by Brianna Wiest.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.donnajart.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/donnaj.art/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/donnaj.art
