Donna Bernstein

Donna Bernstein, Artist

"It is not horses that I paint; I paint the way they make me feel."

“Creating my art is a bit of a bareback ride; I combine mediums in new and regenerative ways that evoke movement, energy and life. Many of my works are large or life-size urban equestrian paintings, "Urban Equines". By that I mean the energy, beauty, and classic equine form expressed in purely contemporary terms.”
What gives my work its edge is a deep personal familiarity with the physical horse… and an expansive sense that the movement is bigger than what you see.
My approach combines a passion for the anatomical horse with a love both of classic gestural drawing and the element of surprise. I would sketch from memory – rarely when I was with them. But my memory, my imagination, my energetic connection to horses became stylized in my art.
Now I understand: It is not horses that I paint; I paint how they make me feel.
My process is infused with this mythology, this spirit, and a sense of the uplifting. Intuitive and athletic I move about large canvases placed strategically on the floor and allow these white spaces to co-create with me. With a focused attention to correctness in the attitude of the horse, I paint in quick, concentrated actions, much as the horse moves, mixing mediums in freshly layered spontaneity. Through a final series of wildly contained drips and splashes each horse’s unique personality, conformation and place in the overall composition is revealed.
I believe that no matter how our culture moves beyond the speed of the horse, his true horsepower lies in his ability to inspire.
As my art continues to mature I blend the persistent complexities of power and vulnerability.

Elegant and sophisticated, my paintings articulate a simplicity of what is beautiful, and are at home in both formal collections as well as the large-scale spaces of modern design.

Self taught through love and life. Horses have been a passion of mine forever, even though I have only rarely owned one. Now, as a member of an all-woman Thoroughbred horse racing syndicate based in NY, howver, I get my horse fix regularly!

Numerous - Please see my website for all the details.

Guest Speaker at various events including in schools, as well as student visits to studio. I Paint Live at events, galas and fundraisers in short of cause about which I am passionate. Visit my website or details. Thank you!

Please see my website at www.donnabernstein.com for all the details!
Numerous shows throughout the country, awards and press.
Thank you!

Working with professionals and the work of the Masters, seen in person.

horses, equestrian, minimalist, abstractive, modern, urban