Tatianna O’Donnell is an award-winning contemporary artist and instructor. Her journey began at an early age with art classes at The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, where Arthur Lismer, one of the Group of Seven, was director of the school. After university, Tatianna took numerous workshops, classes and attended residencies, continuing to expand her knowledge of the arts, in particular painting.
While living in Enderby, she and her husband Frank started a cooperative art gallery. Courtyard Gallery is in operation 11 years later. She successfully brought together the artists in the community to work together for a common goal.
She has led workshops in both Alberta and British Columbia in acrylic and oil painting. She teaches at the Red Deer Summer Art Series as well as at a program in Calgary during the winter months. Tatianna challenges herself exploring new techniques and finding ways to evoke the spirit of her subject. In her most recent work, she paints without a brush using oil and cold wax medium. Her work explores the vibrant intersection between reality and imagination through the expressive mediums of oil and acrylic, capturing the essence of still life and landscapes.
Tatianna’s artwork is hung salon style and cover the walls of not only her studio but every room in the house, as well as that of her children’s homes. Her work is included in private and public collections internationally.
-Written by Frank O’Donnell, loving husband, and supporter.
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Which ’hood are you in?
My home studio is in Coventry Hills, between North East and North West Calgary. I live and work close to Nose Hill Park.
What do you do?
I am a Visual Artist focusing on painting in oils and acrylics. I am also an instructor and teach throughout the year, which I find inspirational. My passion is painting…always has been. Most days you can find me in the studio.
What are you currently working on?
Currently, I am experimenting with oil paint and cold wax medium in a more abstract form, although I continue to work with acrylics as well. My focus in all my paintings is shape, colour and texture. I often work from photographs, and once I have established the contour of the shapes I plan to use, I put the photograph away. From here I work intuitively. I think of my work as being about the rhythm and soul of the subject, a visual narrative. The spirit of the land, the still life or figure, comes with me into my studio and is translated onto the canvas.
Where can we find your work?
My work is available at the Leighton Center, in public collections and on social media, primarily on Instagram, and of course in my studio and my website.
