Donna Mckno

Donna Marie Mckno was born in 1970 in a small village called Whalley in Lancashire,England.Donna grew up on council estates in Accrington in Lancashire along with an older sister and two younger brothers.Donna had an extremely strict and disciplined upbringing.Donna hated her childhood.

Donna was in and out of work,sewing factories mainly until she became pregnant,at the age of 20 years with her first son,Ben.This is around the time the creativity began! Donna handmade some material balloon wall hangings for Ben’s room,as the ones she saw in a shop window were too expensive to buy.This led to designing more hangings in different shapes i.e. hearts,toadstools.Donna gave them as gifts to children and wanted to set up a business,knowing nothing about business and not getting the right connections or having  any capital this venture was the first business to fail!

After the breakdown of Donna’s marriage,she started black felt tip doodles..these where very simple patterns and designs.After about a year her work became more about repeating the same shape until the entire surface area of the paper was covered.This work made Donna realize she had a talent! Donna again tried to turn this idea into a business by selling prints of the images to shops etc…but this was quickly dismissed as printing prices at that time made it impossible.This disheartened Donna who then became pregnant with her second child Chad in 1994.More repetitive images where made in this time and Donna also made some very large collages from all the fliers that she had collected over the years of going to dance clubs.

Whilst on a family holiday in Devon,England,Donna saw inspiration for a new venture in box pictures/assemblage boxes.These were completley hand made wooden boxes and frames,these were then filled with items such as shells,wooden fish,dolpins or seahorses,pebbles etc,held into place by the glass in the frame, making quality and impressive seascape box pictures.Donna tried hard to market the pictures and sold many but box pictures at the time became popular with cheap versions being made and sold in their millions….so yet again the business failed.

Donna has always had the desire to create something completely unique.The urge to prove to the world that she is gifted and not a failure.After the birth of her daughter Mica,the death of her best and longest friend Samantha and the sudden death of Mica’s father Donna lost all inspiration to create anything for at least two years.Then around seven years ago while experimenting with gouache paint,dotty-art was created.Knowing this was new and quite exciting for Donna,she decided to produce some paintings.Donna then decided that everything she painted was going to be reproduced,and started building up a portfolio of images and created images and designs she thought relevant.Donna first had a hand full of designs printed onto greetings cards that where blank inside.All of the earliest designs and images have no text on them,Donna only introduced text around two years ago.Donna registered herself as a self employed artist.Dottyart has been a business since 2006.

Donna became quite obsessed with painting images purely for reproduction.After creating all the animal and sea-life images she had the images printed on key rings,fridge magnets and tried to market the product to zoos,sea-life centers,safari parks,up and down the country,knowing nothing about marketing this came to a dead end.Donna over expected things to just happen many times,which was disheartening as Donna had grown to love her business and worked up to seventy hours a week.This only made Donna more determined to keep working and build up her portfolio more.This is when she started producing larger paintings.Contemporary,abstract,retro and few random designs where made.

Donna soon started experimenting with 3-D objects,first pebbles,shells,other objects Donna had left from the box pictures she used to make.Then a milk bottle,a jam and a chicken paste jar! Donna loved the reaction from people,and was amazed at everyone’s first reaction so much that next was a sink plunger, a hard hat,two eggs in eggcups,a wine bottle and glasses,a wooden coat-hanger and a table top easel.These items could obviously not be sold so Donna decided to hand paint clothes pegs,wooden ones,both flat and the dolly type.Donna painted each dolly pegs as individual cats.Soon after Donna started making hand painted magnets from glass nuggets,the glass was painted and a magnet fixed to the back.A simple but effective idea.More recently Donna has painted images and designs onto wax candles,glass candle holders and notebooks.

A commission was ordered after Donna exhibited at the Spring Fair at the N.E.C. in Birmingham in February 2009.This was a new challenge for her as it was of a famous person.On completion Donna knew this was another channel she had to follow.The fine art side of dottyart appeared and Donna was instantly hungry for further personal challenges.Donna started networking and making new contacts.The new work drew attention making Donna feel important and worthy.The next challenge?…to win the Turner Prize Award!

All Donna’s painting are made up from hundreds to thousands of tiny, individual dots of acrylic paint that are applied with a size 2 spotter paint brush,in a simple but unique way which gives every dot a peak,like tiny upside down cones.As the dots vary in size,the final image is very tactile,almost 3-D. It has been described in many ways but  extreme pointillism seems to fit.Donna’s repetitiveness is often compared to Esher,and aboriginal art.This technique can be painted and reproduced in flat print onto almost any surface.

Donna has  exhibited works at The Municipal Hall in Colne,Lancashire in 2005 and at Howorth Art Gallery, Accrington,Lancashire in 2006,2009 and 2010. She has also taken part in various craft fairs and shows including two weekends at Oswaldtwistle Mills in Lancashire.Donna has rented the Festival Arts Shop in Hebden Bridge, North Yorkshire,for two weekends and has rented market stalls in Accrington Town Center,Lancashire.Donna was an exhibitor at the Spring Fair at the N.E.C Birmingham in 2009. Donna has participated in payed workshops organised by local councils at Blackburn Town Center,Lancashire and Nelson Town Center,Lancashire.Donna has also taught year 5 and 6 pupils at St.Paul’s primary school in Oswaldwislte,Lancashire.

Donna is now married to Charlie and resides and paints in a farmhouse on the outskirts of Padiham,Lancashire.Donna has two dogue de bordeaux(rescued dogs), an english bull terrier,two gerbils,a cockrel and sixteen hand reared  hens! (free range of course!)The  painting technique used is very unique and you can read more about it here.