Paintings by
Donna Coleman
"The issues that most interest me are somewhat autobiographical – stretches of the imagination based on my own life experiences. Included among these issues are the relationship between humans, the delightful intrepidness of children, and the pervasive influence of that misplaced sense of personal power that manifests as racism, sexism, classism and elitism. I believe that although we are all different and don’t necessarily like or understand each other, we are all of equal importance in the eyes of God. We know God only through the full beauty of the human imagination that creates scenarios about life after life. The human capacity for good and evil is so breathtaking, can we conceive of God doing better and the Devil doing worse? I feel very connected to all of the little people in my pictures because, ideally, no one should be overlooked. Art is always more ideal than real life, and I paint because real life is not enough. The format of my pictures is determined by how best to tell the story".
Photo Credits: John Seyfried
Donna Coleman received her BFA, Honors, in painting from the Rhode Island School of Design, and her MFA in painting from CUNY Brooklyn College, New York. Her paintings have been exhibited extensively in Washington DC, her hometown, and in northeastern Ohio, her home since 2000. She has received four grants from the Ohio Arts Council, four grants from the DC Commission on the Arts, as well as grants from the Ellen Johnson Visiting Artist Fund of Oberlin College, Art Matters, Inc., and the George Sugarman Foundation. She has taught art to young children for many years. Currently, she teaches young children at Firelands Association of the Visual Arts in Oberlin and she also teaches drawing to adult students of all ages at Lorain County Community College. She and her husband, composer Jeffrey Mumford, live in Oberlin, Ohio.
Consultation by Joe Owens Design
