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About the Artist:

Donna Roettger - Painter

Donna J. Roettger is a NJ watercolor painter with a BFA from Parsons School of Design, NYC, and an MA in medical illustration from University of Texas Southwester n Medical Center, Dallas. An award winning artist from the garden state Donna believes, "Peace is a state of being whereby body, mind and soul are so completely focused on the present moment, a void is created within the inner space, leaving room for a calm knowing that is love without boundary or end." The subjects in her landscape paintings are fully engrossed in their own thoughts and feelings, unaware of any observers. By creating such a focused portrait of a moment, she hopes the viewer can "feel" the experience, rather than just "see" it. In, "When Two Become One", an original watercolor painting by Donna, she depicts her two sons engrossed in connecting their separate shadows to become a single entity. The work is about one being "in the moment" relating to another being "in the moment", and the viewer relating to them both "in the moment". Donna says, "Only when peace is present within ourselves are we truly able to connect with others."

What inspires me?

The sun and the earth inspire me. The way light and shadow dance on the earth's surface still takes my breath away. We are truly blessed to be trusted observers of this amazing planet's design. It becomes a metaphor for love and peace for me, and it is a profound privilege, and a humbling experience for me to try to interpret it.

What is my medium of choice?

I've worked in a variety of media..from large scale environmental sculpture to small intimate drawings, and I enjoy them all for what they can express. Right now I'm using watercolor almost exclusively.

Why?
Watercolor projects the ultimate in purity and luminosity for me. It has an almost magical quality. This is what I'm trying to convey to the viewer in my paintings right now.

Who are my favorite artists?

I love Mark Rothko's large color field paintings, I have had overwhelming, almost religious experiences looking at them. Robert Smithson is my hero. His Earthworks depicting entropy, the breakdown of a system that cannot be put back together, are cerebral yet corporeal at the same time. I think that is what I am trying to do, connect with both the mental and physical senses of the viewer. Who influences me?

I love the earthy palettes with glimmers of color of Andrew Wyeth and N.C. Wyeth. Both display a mastery of painting technique that is unsurpassed. Also, John Singer Sargent and Winslow Homer have a luminosity to their work that is beyond compare.

How long have I been creating and what or who inspired me to start?

I've been creating since as long as I can remember. I started taking watercolor classes from Tom Valenti, a NJ Watercolor artist, when I was 16, after my Mom spoke to him and thought it would be good for me to take lessons to keep me out of trouble.

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