World of Nature at Waseca Art Center

Walking through the Waseca Art Center on Thursday evening, Nov. 13 immersed fortunate visitors in a world of nature as artists Robin Warburton of Janesville and Bradley Donner of Waseca, displayed their lifelike, exquisitely detailed representations of animals in their natural habitat.

 

Mikhail Rostislavovich, President of the Waseca Arts Council, expressed his honor in welcoming everyone, and in introducing the artists and their work, inviting them to speak and answer questions from the audience.

 

Warburton's passionate pursuit to represent the animals of her world began with a free exhibit in Rochester, Minn., where she became so inspired that she bought books on woodcarving and took classes to learn the process. Now, after retiring in 2018, having won many woodcarving competitions, and receiving grants to help with the costs of producing her work, she is on the board of the International Woodcarvers Congress.

 

Warburton's woodcarvings of fish, owls, and other birds, displayed in the Harguth Gallery, may be lifelike enough to fool even the creatures they represent, Her painstaking approach to the creation of each specimen can take thousands of hours to complete after detailed research, which often includes traveling to see specific animals. “I'm working on an owl now […] that I figure will take 3,000 hours to complete, and the wood alone will cost $10,000,” she said.

 

A life-size eagle catches the eye as it is caught in a moment of arrested motion, appearing to have been in the act of soaring through the art center when time stood still. Warburton said it has been a life-long dream of hers to carve an eagle. The eagle is so large, that Warburton and her husband, Marvin, drove all the way to North Carolina to acquire enough tupelo wood to complete it. “Tupelo comes from the swamps of North Carolina, [...] Louisiana and Florida,” Warbuton explained. She had to make the wings separate and removable, because its seven-foot wingspan would have made it otherwise impossible to transport. Photographs on display show separate pieces that make up the eagle, and what the project looked like before it was completed.

 

Warburton's process proceeds in multiple steps. After sketching the forms on the wood she intends to use, Warburton roughs them out using a band saw. Then she creates texture with a Foredum 1/3 HP motor. “From there I'll go to a micro-motor, which your dentist uses on your teeth,” said Warburton. Even after the carving is complete, Warburton's work isn't done; the carvings create a textured, 3-dimensional canvas on which she paints with acrylics.

 

Warburton hopes people who come to the Waseca Art Center this month enjoy her exhibit. “It's a passion of mine, and I'll keep doing it until the good Lord takes me away,” she said.

For those who felt the irresistible urge to touch Warburton's intricate artwork, she had samples on display, which showcased the effects of various drills in combination with woodburning.

 

Donner's work, displayed in the Beckmann Gallery, also represents the denizens of the animal kingdom in his signature two-dimensional representations in oils and acrylics.

 

Like Warburton's, Donner's work, too, can involve a long process from beginning to completion. As he spoke to those assembled, he referenced a large painting of a ram in the Beckmann Gallery. He took the photos of his original sketch for the piece in Oct. of 2023. He finally finished it three weeks ago. 

 

“My mother was such an influence,” said Donner, who explained that she took acrylic classes when he was still young. “Watching her process, she would bring her work home and practice before her class, and that was what inspired me. I thought it was so neat when she was painting, how she could get things out of nothing.”

 

Donner has been drawing since he could hold a pencil, occasionally even getting himself into trouble through his enthusiasm. For the most part, however, Donner's teachers and his mother encouraged his artistic interests. His mother ensured that he was exposed to the arts and enrolled him in classes and workshops. “I did have to take a break to raise children,” said Donner. But as the children grew up, and Donner eventually retired from full-time work, he gradually found more time to pursue the passion he'd grown up with.

 

Donner highlighted a painting he did of a Comanche warrior on horseback, part of a series he painted of Native Americans with a grant from the Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council. Perusing a book during a long wait in an airport, Donner became inspired to paint an Indian warrior. Searching through internet sources, he discovered a photographer who photographed rodeos. One of the rodeo performers was an individual who dresses as a Comanche warrior and participates in mock battles. “I didn't really like his outfit,” admitted Donner, who wanted something truly authentic. So he altered the outfit for the painting. What really attracted him to this image, however, was not the Indian, but the horse; the look of fear in the horse's eye, turned slightly toward the viewer, was captivating. Donner explained. “If you look at that eye, it looks like he's either going into battle, or he's just come out of it.”

 

Only three pieces are left from the series on Native Americans that Donner painted.

 

The research that Donner engaged in for the Comanche warrior is typical of his working method; he sometimes travels long distances to capture the photographs to use as references for his work. He drove to Custer State Park in the Black Hills for the photos that became a large painting of running buffalo, kicking up dust in the foreground, an effect he achieved by flicking paint at the canvas with a toothbrush. Donner explained that the painting was supposed to be eight feet wide. “But I got scared,” he explained with a smile. “The biggest problem is how am I going to transport it, and where am I going to hang it?” So he compromised with 32” by 40”. “It took me all summer that year,” Donner continued, “just this piece alone.”

 

Of course, no Waseca Art Center reception would be complete without the artistry of Christy Easton, education director, who turned her talents on Thursday evening to the display of sparkling beverages and edibles that guests were happy to sample as they mingled and admired the exhibits.

 

Although the official reception is over, Warburton's and Donner's artwork will be on display through Dec. 20. The Waseca Art Center is open Tues. - Sat. from noon to 5 p.m. For more information on the Waseca Art Center, visit their website at www.wasecaartcenter.org.