My Journey as an Artist
Sometimes the most meaningful journeys are the ones we never quite planned.
My journey as an artist has been one of discovery, experimentation and, increasingly, the confidence to trust my own creative voice.
I am Donna Howard, the artist behind DMaria Art, based on the beautiful South Coast of NSW. My work is deeply influenced by the Australian landscape — its escarpments, rolling hills, waterways, weathered earth and the extraordinary way light can completely transform a familiar place.
But I rarely want to simply paint what I see.
I want to capture what a landscape feels like.
Over time, I have developed a style that is increasingly my own. Texture has become central to my work, and I love experimenting with acrylic paint, ink, plaster, sand, paper, oil pastel and other mixed media. I build, scrape, carve and layer surfaces with palette knives, often allowing the painting itself to guide what happens next.
There have been plenty of experiments along the way — some successful, some definitely not! — but each one has helped me understand more about the artist I want to be.
More recently, my practice has expanded beyond landscape into works such as The Silent Ledger, allowing me to explore more conceptual ideas around identity, time and the experiences we carry with us.
One of the most rewarding parts of this journey has been seeing my work begin to find its place beyond my studio — through exhibitions, art prizes, finalist selections, commissions, collectors and the homes where my paintings eventually live.
I still feel that I am evolving, and perhaps that is what I love most about being an artist. There is always another idea, another surface, another technique and another painting waiting to emerge.
DMaria Art is not just a collection of paintings. It is the record of that continuing journey.
Thank you to everyone who has followed, encouraged, purchased, commissioned, exhibited or simply stopped to look at my work. It means more than you probably realise.
— Donna
DMaria Art
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