Donna Backues
Mountain Spirit
2016
Acrylic, ink, graphite on board
24" x 24" x 0.5"

About the Work
This piece is part of a large body of work called, "Imagined Landscapes" which reference aerial landscapes, volcanoes, craters, bodies of water and land-based forms inspired by places I have lived, visited or viewed from the window of an airplane. Some of my works are imaginary islands like inner landscapes of memory seen from above and others are emotional responses to specific events or historical paintings. They are all created with landscapes in mind.

Bio
Donna Backues has a BA in Studio Art and Graphic Design from Southern Illinois University, an MFA from The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and an MA in Urban Studies & Community Arts, from Eastern University.

After working for several years as a graphic designer, Donna moved to Indonesia. For 18 years she integrated her visual art skills with grassroots development in West Java. Later when she returned the US, she taught at the Village of Arts and Humanities, Mural Arts Philadelphia and Fleisher Art Memorial. Donna has been awarded numerous artist residencies including the Philadelphia Art Museum's Delphi Art Futures and Art Partners program, Spiral Q and Rutgers Camden Center for the Arts. In 2013 Donna won first prize in the American Batik Design Competition, in 2014 she was awarded the Art & Change Grant by the Leeway foundation and in 2017, the NewCourtland Fellowship.

Along with her community/social work with immigrants and refugees in South Philadelphia, Donna continues to work as a studio artist, teaching artist & community artist. Four of her paintings are in the Philadelphia Convention Center's permanent collection. Her public murals can be seen in Philadelphia, Camden New Jersey and in Leeds, England. Her paintings have been collected and exhibited internationally in Europe, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

InLiquid.org, donnabackues.com

Buyer assumes all S&H costs.