Coloring is not just for kids anymore.
Donna J. O’Donnell discovered that a long time ago. She loved to draw and color as a child growing up in the Burbank area.
Then as a parent, she liked to color with her kids. And then she renewed the fun by taking time to color with her granddaughter when she came to visit.
Now the Homer Glen artist said that same relaxed feeling associated with coloring comes over her when she works on her pastels created primarily with chalk, colored pencils and graphite.
Her artwork, “Reflections of Nature” will be on display from Saturday to May 14 at the Wildwood Gallery, 1010 S. State St. in Lockport. The opening reception will be from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday.
O’Donnell, 64, said the show will include at least 20 pieces from her nature collection.
“I’ve always enjoyed nature and the outdoors. I enjoy trips to the zoos. I have bird feeders and bird baths in my yard. … I just love the outdoors,” she said. She just finished a picture of a blue jay her daughter photographed in her yard.
While O’Donnell has a desire to capture more wild birds and more wildlife in general, her most consistent work is doing pet portraits by request. Word of her talent for memorializing a beloved cat or dog has spread through the south suburbs. And many customers, she said, have seen her art through her affiliation with the Stone City Kennel Club, a dog training facility in New Lenox.
A self-taught artist, she is inspired by wildlife artists Robert Bateman, Terry Isaac and others, she said. Although she began working in oils, she found it difficult with children and then grandchildren in the house and the time that must be devoted to clean up. Pastels are an easier medium for her and more of the style she wanted, she siad.
“I started working in the soft pastels and it kind of clicked,” O’Donnell said. “When people see the pictures they say they are so soft it looks like you could pet them.”
Because animals are not the best at sitting still for long, she works primarily from photos. But she also works from the heart, using pastels in a series of ethereal landscape images.
“It’s very soothing, very relaxing for me,” said O’Donnell, who babysits a grandchild and enjoys using his nap times to work on the latest piece (a portrait of a standard poodle).
“Over the weekends I’ll work on my hobby. I’ve always been that way,” she said. “I do it whenever I can because I enjoy it.”
For information, go to www.wildwoodgallery.com
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Joan Cary is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.