Donna Zagotta, Juror & Workshop Leader

By Mary Rollins

Donna Zagotta excels when it comes to painting people and their environments, whether it is in an intimate setting, or part of a larger cityscape. She handles shape, color, and value concepts in fresh and exciting ways.

An active professional for more than 20 years, Donna is a nationally recognized artist and teacher. She has accumulated numerous awards including first place awards in the 2005 Arizona Watercolor Association Exhibition and 1997 Watercolor West Annual, second place award in the 1999 National Watercolor Society Exhibition, and the Ogden and Mary Pleissner Award in the 2000 American Watercolor Society. She is an elected member of the American Watercolor Society, National Watercolor Society, Watercolor West, and Midwest Watercolor Society. Her work appears in ten books and eleven magazines, she has written three magazine feature articles, and her work appears on the cover of Rockport Publisher’s Watercolor Expressions and the Artist’s Magazine. She was selected as Watercolor Magic Yearbook 2001’s Ones to Watch, and was featured in Watermedia Focus Magazine’s An Artist Worth Noting. Donna has been teaching classes and workshops since 1990 and she served as one of the jurors for the 2002 National Watercolor Society Exhibition.

Of her work she says, “My current interest lies in exploring the area that lies between realism and abstraction and I choose subjects that are open to both possibilities. Mood, gesture, abstract shapes, minimal detail, value patterns, imaginative color, and luscious strokes of paint—these are what ignite my passion!”

Our own WSO Past President, Ruth Armitage, has this to say about her:“Donna is known for her unconventional use of the watercolor medium and the exploration of the area that lies between realism and abstraction. She finds inspiration in the works of Edouard Vuillard, Henri Matisse and Richard Diebenkorn, masters who were more focused on expressing color and spatial ideas than in rendering the particulars of subject matter. Donna’s workshop should appeal to a broad variety of interests; whether strong designs, color, figures, interiors or cityscapes. Her award-winning work has captivated attention for years, and she is a warm, congenial presence in the classroom.”

Dates: The workshop will be held on Monday April 7 through Friday April 11, from 9am to 4pm.

Location: The Pine Grove Grange, located five minutes from downtown Hood River. It is an excellent site for the workshop in several ways: it has ample parking right next to the building, so painting materials can be brought in with ease; the location is level, so it presents no obstacles for folks with a walking handicap; it is very large and has a sitting area for Donna’s demonstrations, as well as an area for the painting tables – and no one will be cramped for painting “elbow” room. 25 attendees will be accepted into the workshop.

For more info