Donna Mckno

Original paintings on candles is the most recent addition to the surfaces Donna has experimented on.At first she painted random patters and designs but then decided to try out some of her past designs.Donna can also personalises certain designs.The candles come complete with a flat glass candle holder which is is painted around the perimeter.These make unique gifts.

Donna enjoys painting on glass,the dimension of the paint is captured fantastically.At times very tricky and it takes over a week to complete one paperweight as sections of paint have to dry before applying more or are very easily ruined.The set of three are on display at Howarths Chartered Accountants in Accrington Lancashire.

Donna welcomes commissions,these are the more challenging pieces of artwork she paints.As every commission is different Donna has to study the subject seriously and has visions of the finished painting.Donna does not start work until this process is complete in her mind.

Lily was commissioned by the owner from a photograph he had taken when Lily was only a 2day old foal.Donna went and met Lily,whose mum(mare),called Taomie Star,an international class show-jumper that among other honours,won the prestigious Cock O' the North championships at the Great Yorkshire Show and competed in the Fox-hunter final at the Horse of the Year Show.Donna deliberately simplified Lily's surroundings,and by doing so focussed attention on the lines of the foal,as well as catching its personality.Lily is painted on aluminium composite and framed without glass in a black,flat,chunky frame.

 Donna will gladly do commissions,these do not have to have a limit of size and can be on watercolour block or aluminium.Donna has even painted an old garden ornament as a commission.

Aluminium was an experimental surface for Donna.The paintings are framed but need no glass.This gives the paintings a hidden depth which changes in different light settings and standing positions.Donna loves working on this surface as her work is very tactile and as the paintings have no glass it is possible to feel the painting.

Donna experiments painting on many surfaces,canvas being one of them.This turned out not to be a good surface to paint on..the spots of paint were not perfect enough for perfectionist Donna,who had decided to count how many spots of paint it took to cover the front of the canvas block....Donna felt obliged to complete the piece and the counting.The front of this canvas has over 43 thousand individual spots of paint.Donna then painted all four sides of the canvas to give it more depth but did not count them spots! the canvas measures 30 inch x x30 inch (76.5cm x 76.5cm)

Painting on watercolour block is ideal for this style,the paper does not absorb the water from the paint,which ordinary paper does.Some of the first paintings done by Donna are in this section.There is a very recognisable difference in the size and shapes of the earliest pieces.There is less depth to each spot of paint,but are still tactile.

The lepoards are precision lazer cut stainless steel templates that are made to order by a local company.The lepoards are not framed and their spots are actually holes.The approx size of each lepoard is 32 inch x 21 inch.(81.5cm x 53.5cm).Each lepoard is very individual,Donna chooses a sex and a name for each one,they are brought to life with every spot of paint.The eyes on the lepoards are painted a yellow/orange colour which gives them the illusion that they are looking directly at you.

These limited edition prints are taken from original acrilic paintings on watercolour block.Each painting is made up from up  patches of paints, up to 440 per painting. Limited edition giclee prints are signed and dated.Only 95 copies of each painting will be printed (to order). Printed on high quality Hahnemuhle German etching 310g/m2. Prints come with a certificate of authenticity. The image are all 16"x12"(41cm x 30.8cm) approx and have a deep border.

Acrilic painted objects,some of which are things we see and use everyday.The painted object becomes a precious piece of artwork. These pieces are not for sale but are available for exhibition.

The eggs are from free range happy hens that live at Donna's farm. Blown and thoroughly cleaned. Each egg is painted over three days... this is a slow process but necessary as not to ruin the spots of paint, which is very easily done (several times!!)