Brad Donner, Wildlife artist

For the next few weeks, visitors stopping by the Waseca Art Center will likely feel as if they are stepping into the great outdoors.

 

Sculptor in wood Robin Warburton and painter Brad Donner have brought their  true-to-life portrayals of natural settings and animals to the Center’s main floor galleries.

 

Both artists are long-time area residents whose work represents scenes native to Minnesota.

 

Their displays will be in place through Dec. 20; an artists’ reception will be at the Art Center from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 13.

 

Donner, 66, says he has been an artist since he was old enough to hold a pencil. He describes a variety of responses shown by his teachers when he was in school, then goes on to praise his high school art teachers who helped steer his inclination and talent toward becoming skill.

 

He and his wife Melissa have been married 47 years and raised seven children, the oldest of whom is now 46. During the earlier years of their marriage and while they were raising children, Brad says art took something of a back seat in his life. But since he retired in 2019, he is happy to report he has more time for his artistic inclinations.

 

An outdoorsman, canoeist and camper, he says he keeps his camera in reach in the hope of capturing elusive moments.

 

One example is an image of a chipmunk sniffing a peanut butter jar–a photo he snapped at his campsite and then went on to paint in life size. Another accurately sized painting is of a red squirrel perched on its back legs on a branch, looking toward the viewer with what might be interpreted as an unwelcoming expression.

 

In fact, most of the 26 paintings on display through December are reproductions of pictures Brad has captured, sometimes spontaneously and sometimes after going in search of them–such is the case with an image of an elk whose antlers blend with the branches of nearby trees. Brad mentions having taken the photo at an area elk farm.

He also visits area parks and Moonan Marsh both because he enjoys being there and because he finds sources of inspiration.

 

On public display for the first time are four paintings Brad has submitted for consideration to become a duck stamp: three have been for the national contest, one for Minnesota’s.

 

Brad says he purposely challenges himself to create works in a range of sizes, some as small as a sheet of office paper, others three and four feet on a side. His display at the Art Center reflects that variety. He also says he often has three or four paintings in progress at once. “When I get bored or frustrated with one of them,” he says energetically, “I go work on one of the others.”

 

There are two types of compliments, he mentions, which make him feel he is accomplishing his goal of bringing nature to life on canvas.

 

One is when people tell him his paintings remind them of pieces done by nationally known artist Robert Bateman, whose work he has always admired and aspired to.

 

Another is when people see a painting and are inspired to share a personal experience which matches the scene or subject. “When people say the image might be from a trip they took or a moment they remember, that means to me that I’ve captured something lasting and important,” says Brad.

 

He mentions he hopes people come in and enjoy his work and Warburton’s, whether they have any intentions of buying art or not. 

 

“There’s something about nature that lifts your heart and broadens your mind,” he says. “It might be kind of cold for a walk in the woods right now, but you can get a lot of the same peace and energy by enjoying what we have on display.”