There are not a lot of rules when it comes to art, but there are some. Thurston County artist Bonnie Belden-Doney is a lifelong painter that has bucked a few rules to create stunning watercolors of people, pets and nature. She desires to capture something extra in her paintings and it’s taken a lifetime to get there.
Bonnie started creating art when she was just 8 years old. “I loved looking at those advertisements for The Art Institute where they would say to submit your drawings to them to win a scholarship,” she remembers. “I would submit them but didn’t realize at the time that children were not accepted into the Institute.”
She loved working with pencil drawings from the beginning, because of the fine details she could get. “I love the line work and shading that could be created using various parts of the pencil,” Bonnie describes. “I then started using pen and ink. I would draw on anything that the ink would adhere to: glass, wood, paper, etc.”
An artist friend saw an oil painting Bonnie had worked on and offered to give her lessons on the proper use of colors, designs and strokes, as well as what brushes to use. Like with the ink and pen, this new medium sparked a fever in Bonnie and she painted everything. “You name it,” she shares, “if the paint could adhere to it, I would paint it. Then I started incorporating the pen and ink with the oil paints.”
In 1969, when she was 18 years old, her family, including her mother, father and her five siblings, moved from Denver, Colorado to Thurston County. “My Dad particularly loved the tall trees and the green lushness of the area,” she recalls. In 1982 Bonnie moved to Maui, Hawaii. She returned to Thurston County in 2017, where she had family and fond memories of her children.
The Wonder of Watercolor
Moving around a lot, Bonnie found oil paining a bit cumbersome. Since the paint doesn’t dry quickly, moving a wet canvas was a challenge, as was the pallet full of oil paint. This was one of the things that drew her to watercolor. “I decided that since watercolors dried rather quickly and the pallet of colors could be easily moved, I would switch to painting in watercolor,” she explains.
But watercolor and oil paint are not the same. She learned quickly that watercolor has its own set of challenges. Ones she quickly overcame as she learned to capture the essence of her subjects in the way she wanted with her new chosen medium. In particular, she loves painting portraits of people. “I love the eyes that tell the story,” she explains.
To do this, she needed more detail than is usually done with watercolor. “Painting a lot of detail in portraits with many steps of glazing is not usually done in watercolor,” Bonnie explains. “Watercolor painting is normally free flowing with colors blending together softly. Whereas, I seem to still like the fine detail that one achieves in an oil painting.” Adding finer details to her watercolors was tricky, but Bonnie soon mastered her own style and now creates artwork with the best of both mediums: flowing, soft colors that make the photo feel alive, along with fine details that capture the souls of her subjects.
She also adds texture to her watercolors, something not usually done. “I also use texture by adding a three-dimensional look to the paintings,” Bonnie explains. “I will add beads, leather, jewels, tulle, paper, etc., to create a deeper depth to the story I am painting.”
While her favorite thing to paint is portraits, she says lately she has been creating lighthearted and joyful paintings, including florals, bicycles, boats and other scenes. Whatever inspires her. “My process for creating comes with spending time with the Lord,” Bonnie explains. “I am at peace when I listen to worship music. So, I put on my worship music and begin to create. I love the free-flowing movement of flowers in the sun, children playing, animals that smile, etc. These give me inspiration.”
Bonnie Belden-Doney does take commissions, including people and pet portraits. She can work off a photograph, but if she is doing a portrait, she also likes to meet her subject. “I like to study the pet, try to get to know the owner a little and draw the composition,” she says. For things she finds in nature, like a lovely group of flowers, she may do a quick sketch to paint later.
Learn more about her, including contact information for commissions, at the Bonnie Belden-Doney website.
