In Pictures :: Donna's Art House

Hello. Today you are invited on a tour of the colourful home-studio of one of my favourite North Coast artists; Donna Sharam.


Last week, with baby and camera in tow, I wound my way up through the hills beyond Byron Bay to the quaint village of Clunes, NSW, known for its sweet weatherboard cottages, rural vistas and picket fences.

Arriving at Donna’s street, brightly painted totem poles and Mondrian-style garden paving immediately distinguish her house and give a glimpse into the playfully colourful world she creates – both in her artwork and her home.
After previously working as a fashion designer and creator of her own range of hand-painted home-wares, Donna made the move to Clunes from Blackheath in the Blue Mountains five and a half years ago with her husband Bob and three boys and followed her dream of painting. She is now established as a full-time professional artist.

"I love creating, making something new and different," Donna says. "I love experimenting. I have an idea about what I am going to paint, however the artwork always turns out in some way different to what I was planning. I love the lifestyle of being an artist; doing full-time what I would do anyway in my spare time and being able to paint and talk on the phone, or talk with my children at the same time.”

Donna prefers to paint outside from her balcony-studio overlooking the picturesque Eltham (NSW) valley and on the day I visit it is here that we share a cuppa, watching the birds flock over the hills in the distance.

Donna and I talk about finding the courage to follow our creative dreams. Her passion for painting has grown and flourished since moving to this new home and she tells me she recently took the plunge to cut back on her teaching hours to concentrate full time on her art. The decision is paying off with dozens of new gallery-shops now stocking her smaller artworks while her latest series of paintings are, in my humble opinion, some of her best work yet.
The natural world, particularly the local landscape, is Donna’s favourite subject – and her bright, happy interpretation of it is what makes me love her work so much. With an expert eye for colour, Donna can take rural scenes such as this view from her balcony, (below) and transform them into paintings that sing with colour and energy.
"I call myself a 'colourist' or 'Fauvist' - like Picasso and Matisse,” Donna says.“ I love their use of colour. I am also inspired by Hundertwasser , the Austrian Architect, and to some extent , (Australian artist) Ken Done.”

Donna’s love for colour is also evident throughout her home from the bright orange doors in the entrance to paint-splattered floors in her boys’ space.
Her background in textiles is also present with colourful throws and cushions and this funky dressmaker’s form used as a colourful, sculptural element.
Donna’s kids all love to create as well and their artwork is on display throughout the home. Her youngest boy, Bailey, 12, even sells his work alongside his mother’s at the Bangalow Art Show held at the Bangalow A & I Hall each market day and has recently won three art competitions and sold six paintings to date.
“Living here has brought out that creativity in the kids and in my painting. I absolutely love it here. I can’t see myself ever leaving the Northern Rivers,” Donna says.

I hope you don’t ever leave either Donna! Thank you for letting me photograph you at home and work – and also, thank you for being so wonderful about me bringing my baby along to our fun photo-shoot, too.

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After touring Donna’s home and admiring how she combines colours so well in her interiors, I asked her for some tips on how to bring colour into my own home. Maybe you like colour but, like me, lack the confidence to use it so much?

 Donna’s Colour Tips:

*  It is probably easiest to start with neutral colours for most permanent things in your home. I hate brown - so I would most like to start with walls / doors / even furniture such as cupboards / chest of drawers etc being antique white.

Then: 
*One good idea is to read a bit of info on the internet about the colour wheel. Learn about primary, secondary and tertiary colours, complimentary colours and warm and cool colours.

*Look at the combinations of these colours, choose the combination you like best and start introducing this combination into one room - with lounge, cushions, throws, chairs etc.

*A second idea is to choose your favourite colour and use it throughout your house but with different colours combined with it in different rooms: Such as red and navy-blue in your son’s room in bold prints of stars and spots; red, pink and orange in your daughter’s room - with funky prints of big flowers. Or red, lime green, yellow and lots of white in the sun room with stripey cushions.


You can see more of Donna Sharam’s artwork on her website here or visit her Facebook page for details of upcoming exhibitions.

And, if you want to see more Creative Spaces today, visit Kirsty's Kootoyoo blog and follow the links to a bunch of crafty folk playing along with “My Creative Space” this week.

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