Donna Backues
Mountain Spirit, 2016
Acrylic, watercolor, ink, gouache, graphite on birch board
26" x 26"

Artist Statement

Imagined Landscapes

This peice is part of a larger body of work titled Imagined landscapes. These are inner landscapes of the mind and memory but still inspired by real places in the world. Mountain Spirit was painted after a trip to Taos, New Mexico. In the sky there is a reference to Van Gogh's Starry Night.

Artist Bio

Donna Backues has a BA in Studio Art & Graphic Design from Southern Illinois University, an MFA from The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and an MA in Urban Studies and Community Arts from Eastern University. Donna lived in Indonesia for 18 years working as an artist, a teaching artist, and as a grassroots community development practitioner using her art in various capacities. Her work included founding a community preventative health training program and partnering with local artisans to design indigenous products for export to support small home industries.
Since moving to Philadelphia, Donna has worked as a painter, illustrator, community artist and teaching artist. Currently she is the Community & Family Wellness Coordinator for a non-profit working with the Asian immigrant and refugee population in Philadelphia. Donna taught for The Mural Arts Program and The Village of Arts and Humanities. She has been awarded artist residencies through the Philadelphia Art Museum's Delphi Art Futures & Art Partners program, Rutgers Camden Center for the Arts, Fleisher Art Memorial and Spiral Q.

www.donnabackues.com

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