Member Biography

ARTIST STATEMENT

Graphite Work:
Like many people in this part of the country I have a passion for trees and the out of doors. I like to take a non-traditional look by bringing the viewer's focus up close to examine shadows and textures for an intimate visual experience. The trees illustrated here were drawn during my Peace Corps service in Macedonia, 2006-2008. I developed the idea of working on multiple pieces of paper in order to do large works and also to be able to easily pack them up and bring them home!

Colored Pencil Work:
Here I enjoy another artistic continuum--the traditional still-life format. I am very interested in other cultures and the objects that symbolize their ethnicity. Because I have a collection of various folk artifacts, these become my personal signature and are often used repeatedly to make visual statements about diversity. With the use of negative space and careful composition, the drawings are brought into a contemporary format.

Stones arse another reoccurring theme in my current drawings. These silent witnesses of the earth's doings intrigue me and I enjoy exploring their shapes and wonderful colors...As with most of my work, I take a close-up viw in order to bring focus on the immediate - a segment of the landscape, if you will...

ART EXPERIENCE

I have worked in the fields of commercial art and fine arts since graduation from California College of Arts and Crafts in the 1960's. While living and raising our family in San Diego, I owned and directed a regional cooperative gallery, Spectrum, for eight years. It featured over 35 artists from the San Diego region working in all media and crafts. Since returning to the NW in 1985, I have concentrated on studio work.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

Women Painters of Washington (WPW)
Colored Pencil Society of America (CPSA), Signature Status

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

2008

• Struga, Macedonia, Exhibition of tree drawings done while in Peace Corps

2006-2008

• Peace Corps Volunteer, Macedonia

2006

• Signature Showcase, CPSA Invitational, Delray Beach, FL
• Celebrations III, Women Painters of Washington Gallery, 5th and Columbia, Seattle

2005

• Explore This! 3, Colored Pencil Society of America, La Jolla Art Association Gallery, La Jolla, CA
• An Enduring Legacy: Women Painters of Washington, 1930-2005, Whatcom Museum of History & Art, Bellingham, WA

2004

• Three person exhibit, Olympic Community College, Bremerton, WA 2003

2003

• WPW Juried Shows, University House, Wallingford & Issaquah
• Edmonds Arts Festival 1999-2003
• Puget Sound Country, juried show, Seattle

2002

• Leavitt & Leavitt, Edmonds Community College
• NW Color II, hon. mention, WA State Trade & Convention Center, Seattle
• Mercer Island Gallery, Leavitt & Leavitt, Memorial Exhibit for husband, Dan
• Edmonds Art Festival, Award: Honorable Mention
• CPSA 10th International Exhibition, Ft. Worth, TX
• Puget Sound Country, Juried Show, Seattle

2001

• Mercer Island Gallery, WPW Juried Show Award: 3rd Place
• Solo Show, Edmonds Arts Festival Museum Gallery
• "Epic Passages," Juried Show, WPW & PSGNWP, Nordic Heritage Museum, Seattle
• CPSA 9th International Exhibition, San Francisco, CA
• WPW Membership Show, Sidney Arts Gallery, Pt. Orchard
• WPW Juried Show, Roby King Gallery, Pt. Ludlow, Award of Excellence

2000

• "Gateway" WPW Show, Main Terminal, SeaTac Airport
• WPW 70th Anniversary Membership Show, Edmonds Community College
• Edmonds Arts Festival, Juried Show
• "Millennium Images" WA State Trade & Convention Center, WPW Juried Show. Award: Best in Show

1999

• "Millennium Images" Ahmed Al Adway Gallery, Kuwait City, Kuwait
  

You can see more of Donna Leavitt's art at

www.donnaleavittart.com

"Thaw I" - 19 h x 11 w - colored pencil

"Thaw II" - 19 h x 11 w - colored pencil

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