Donna Edmonds, watercolorist & Cheri Yarnell, ceramicist

Donna Edmonds

Donna Edmonds is a watercolor artist who concentrates on botanical and other nature subjects. She has a particular interest in the native plants, birds and animals of the region. Her training as a traditional botanical artist results in a particular style of precise and detailed renderings of her subject matter.

After retirement from a career as a corporate executive, Donna studied Botanical Art and Illustration at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens where she had the opportunity to study under a number of highly accomplished international contemporary botanical artists.

She also worked as an instructor on the Phipps faculty for several years teaching classes for the Botanical Art and Illustration Certificate Program including Color Theory for Watercolor Application.  She is a member of The American Society of Botanical Artists.

Donna was the founder of the Red Brick Gallery and Allegheny Riverstone Artists’ Co-operative. She served as its Artistic Director for eleven years until passing the baton to Jason Lewis in 2022, the current Artistic Director of the Red Brick Gallery. She continues to participate as a member of the artists’ co-operative.  She resides with her husband in Parker, PA.

 

Artist Statement

I am attracted, not only to the act of painting, but also to the fascinating subjects that I illustrate. God’s creation enthralls, captivates, awes me by its diversity, complexity and beauty. Painting is my way of engaging and interacting with that breathtaking, endlessly complex beauty.

My training originated at Phipps Conservatory in the Botanical Art and Illustration Program. My involvement with Phipps lead me to participate in a venture called the Flora Project which launched my interest in Western Pennsylvania native plants. That interest has since expanded to the local birds and the architecture of their wonderfully built nests. I am inspired by the life I see around me – the plants and creatures that I share space with every day – because I can witness them, touch them, get up close to them.

The goals of botanical art are detail and accuracy. To accomplish this, one must examine closely, dissect, and research the subject. And so, that has become my habit. I’m curious to understand the details – the colors, the structures, the life cycle, and the habitat – of the things I paint.

Artistic Process

My process is lengthy. Once I have chosen, examined, and researched, I sketch from live plant specimens, inactive bird nests, or from photos. I capture details and experiment with various aspects and positions ultimately resulting in a final composition. This drawing is then transferred to a sheet of 300 lb. hot pressed (a very smooth surface) watercolor paper. Before applying paint, I experiment with paint colors and mixes in order to match the real subject and produce a realistic result.

Finally, I pick up my brush. I work with a very small, usually #1, round, kolinsky sable brush which allows me to achieve fine detail. Watercolor is a somewhat unforgiving medium. Since the paint is transparent, mistakes cannot generally be covered up or corrected without damaging the surface of the paper. So, the work must progress slowly and carefully, applying many diluted layers to accomplish saturated color.

Colors are mixed in two ways. Sometimes the colors are mixed on the palette before application. But color mixes can also be achieved by what is called optical mixing – by layering two or more colors alternately on the paper so that the eye does the mixing as it sees through the “stacked” transparent glazes. For example, alternating glazes of yellow and blue create the effect of green. A complete and complex spectrum of colors can be achieved by simply using a palette of the three primary colors!

Because of the detailed nature of this art form, it takes many hours of painting to complete the piece. But when it is done, the next step is to take the original to a fine art printmaker to be digitally scanned. The color-matched scan is used to produce limited edition giclée prints.

A giclée print refers to one that is produced in such a manner that it is identical to the original. It is produced on a twelve-color printer to achieve maximum color matching, with fade resistant, archival pigment-based inks on archival substrates – watercolor paper, photo paper or canvas. The process is expensive, but it produces an image as close to the original as possible on a fine surface material. It, like the original, will retain color indefinitely with a modicum of care.

Most recently, I have reduced my limited editions to 10 or fewer, since my aim is not mass production but simply to enjoy and share the paintings that I am able to produce.

Cheri’s designs and color choices are influenced by her rural lifestyle as well as her interest in and concern for our natural environment.  Some pieces are quite whimsical, especially her mugs which feature playful botanical and animal imagery.

For 25 years she has made 20 pieces each year called “On the Edge” that address her abiding concern for our natural environment and endangered or imperiled species.  These pieces are adorned with humpback whales, amphibians, wolves, etc.  All her pieces are done completely by one potter from wedging to firing.

Cheri lives in Northwestern Pennsylvania and shows her work in several galleries and annual shows. Her work has been published in two Lark Books directories celebrating ceramic art:  500 Animals in Clay and 500 Teapots: Contemporary Explorations of a Timeless Design.

Artist Statement

My work is always changing but there are a few constants: I work in high fired porcelain and white stoneware and create each piece individually, from wedging the clay in preparation to forming each vessel on the potter’s wheel or hand building.

I choose to work in porcelain or white stoneware because of the smooth white surface, which encourages surface decoration. Some pieces receive surface treatment using handmade stamps or the use of crochet or tatting for texture.  Much of the work involves alteration through manipulating and through sculpting.