West County News, November 11-17, 2004
by Ellen Eller
Donna Estabrooks calls her work “painted prayers,” and that is the name of her current exhibit on show at Wings of Light on Bridge Street in Shelburne Falls.
The paintings are vibrant, joyous, playful — and more … works that mix acrylics and oil, pastels, words, musical notes, swathes of color and lively forms. Just their names take the viewer to another level of awareness, conveying the soothingly spiritual nature of this artist’s gift.
“List the Things You Are Grateful For” is a vivid portrait of a flower bursting with life under a red sun and sky. A huge heart with the message “You are what your deep driving desire is” floats on a canvas of rich gold, rust, bronze and cream. Horses race in silhouette across the face of another heart, glowing like a vast blue moonscape beneath the words, “Live life from miracle to miracle.”
Ms. Estabrooks does believe in everyday miracles. The discovery that she could “blend art and healing” and “touch people’s lives” is one miracle she never takes for granted. “I feel this sense of mission, being both an artist and a healer,” she says, describing her conviction that she’s “blessed to be able to paint whatever [she's] experiencing” and “give it as a gift to others.”
A graduate of UMass who spent nine years there as an artist-in-residence, Donna Estabrooks now teaches creativity classes privately — or rather, in her words, “It’s not so much teaching as facilitating a process.”
She believes all people have innate talents, and has developed unique techniques to help her students explore that facet of themselves. One of her most effective tools is collaboration — having someone paint for a minute or two, then pass the piece to someone else, who passes it along in turn, etc., until the group has created something special. Ms. Estabrooks says it’s wonderful to “get to the point where you give up control … and the miracle happens.”
What other miracles has she experienced? “Incredible healing changed my life when I began my Buddhist practices,” Ms. Estabrooks told West County News, and her paintings allow her to repay what she considers a debt of gratitude. She has dedicated herself to working toward world peace and transforming the human condition through her paintings, and has seen tangible results. Not only does she enjoy the thrill of expressing her most heartfelt prayers through art, she is also frequently surprised and gratified to learn what others find in her work. People who buy it often come back to say the paintings have helped them in some way — to overcome illness or despair, to find new hope, strength or love in their relationships, or simply to bring a fresh sense of joy into their lives.
The artist’s website, donnaestabrooks.com, showcases the wide range of themes her work covers — spiritual revelations, landscapes, people, flora and fauna and relationships, bitter and sweet. When asked about a series of cats that appear on the site, she replied that they were done for a client. “I love the magic of commissions,” she said, explaining that her process generally involves at least three canvases: one that portrays whatever the client asked for, one that’s half the client’s request, half the artist’s intuition, and a third that’s all intuition. It’s one reason she’s so extraordinarily prolific. “If I’m really stuck, I just do more paintings,” she laughed. It’s no hardship to someone who loves her work.
Donna Estabrooks expressed her thanks to Andrée Clearwater of Wings of Light for the gallery’s continuing support of spiritually-inspired artists. It is always among the featured stops on the gallery walks held in Shelburne Falls the third Friday of each month. “We try to have a healing focus in everything we show,” Ms. Clearwater told West County News, and the work of Donna Estabrooks is a prime example.
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