Art has always been my way of making sense of the world—an anchor in moments of chaos, a companion through silence, and a mirror for things left unspoken.

Recently, I created a piece that explores mental health. It’s personal—not just in subject, but in how it was made. Every line, texture, and mark carries something I’ve felt, or someone else might have. It’s an artwork about the inner world: tangled thoughts, layered emotions, the weight of memory, and the light that still manages to filter through.

I’m honoured to share that this piece has been selected for the People’s Choice Award. This means more than recognition—it means people are looking, feeling, and hopefully, understanding a little more about what mental health really means.

When I began working on this piece, I didn’t set out to make something ‘perfect.’ I set out to be honest. The kind of honesty that often hides behind smiles or busy days. I wanted to create something that invites people to pause and reflect, whether it’s their own journey or someone else’s.

Art can be a bridge—between people, between experiences, between silence and speech. If my work becomes that bridge for even one person, then it’s done its job.

If you’ve ever struggled, supported someone who has, or just want to better understand the invisible battles we face, I’d love for you to take a moment to look at the work, read its story, and if it resonates—vote, share, or simply carry its message forward.

Thank you to everyone who continues to believe in the power of art to heal, connect, and start conversations that matter.

I am an artist whose practice is rooted in pen, place, and memory. My work focuses on storytelling through intricate linework, contrasting light and dark, and exploring the emotional landscapes of personal and collective experience. Although pen remains at the core of my practice, I have developed a multi-disciplinary approach that includes etching on metal, working withnatural materials like bark and hide, and creating digital portraiture and illustration.

My journey into art has been shaped not by a singular moment but by an ongoing exploration of how we connect with the world and with ourselves. I create to understand. My work often begins with memory—a sound, a smell, an image—and from there unfolds into a visual language of detail and emotion. I aim to express what can’t always be said aloud. Over time, I’ve realised that my work is not just about what we see but how we feel, remember, and inhabit places and stories.

One of my key themes is sense of place. I’ve created works that reflect my childhood in the 1980s and 90s, including Brief Home, a detailed pen drawing filled with symbols from that era—bicycles, cassette players, an Escort Mark 1, basketball hoops—capturing the energy, innocence, and contradictions of youth. These aren’t just nostalgic scenes; they’re emotional maps, capturing what it felt like to live through those moments.

I often work in series, and one major body of work explored the five senses—sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing—as a way of connecting people to places and experiences. Each drawing interprets a sense as a memory or feeling, inviting the viewer to engage beyond sight. What does a childhood home sound like? How does a specific landscape smell in memory? These explorations allow me to blur the boundaries between personal and shared experience.

Materiality is a significant part of my process. I’ve worked on bark, hide, and etched metal surfaces, choosing each material intentionally for how it reflects the memory or message I want to convey. These natural or industrial textures hold their own stories—scars, marks, and imperfections that speak to time, wear, and place. In one project, I drew on the inside of bark, flattening and preserving it to create a drawing surface full of natural history.

Supported by Arts Council England, I’ve recently expanded into digital art, developing my practice to include digital portraits and illustrations that continue my storytelling in a new format. My digital portraits use smudge and blotch effects to mirror how memory often appears—slightly blurred, emotional, unfinished yet intimate. One portrait I created as a memorial was especially powerful for me. It used abstraction and color to express grief, presence, and warmth all at once—showing not just what someone looked like, but how they were remembered.

I also work with illustration and commissions. I’ve created logos, tattoo designs, and a children’s coloring book based on the unlikely friendship of a pig and a frog—Brenda and Eddy—two characters inspired by real people who met through social media. That book, lighthearted and sweet, reminded me of the power of humour and storytelling in connecting people.

A significant area of my practice involves exhibition work responding to conceptual themes. I’ve created pieces for themes such as Spring Equinox, Gardens of Life, and Art as a Response. These have allowed me to explore growth, balance, the passage of time, and mental health. In Gardens of Life, I depicted local buildings being reclaimed by nature, turning ruins into symbols of rebirth and the creative cycle. In Art as a Response, I focused on emotion and collective mental wellbeing—how art can speak for and support us when words are hard to find.

Another project explores phantasmal gothic themes, inspired by Whitby, the story of Dracula, and decaying architecture. These works are atmospheric, layered with symbolism, and often include hidden objects like washers—callbacks to my earlier sculptural pieces and a way of playing with narrative depth. I enjoy embedding small elements that reward deeper looking.

One of the most important things I’ve learned through my career is that I influence myself. My past work feeds the present. I revisit ideas, techniques, and emotional themes, allowing them to evolve. This ongoing dialogue with myself keeps my work honest, intuitive, and connected. I don’t draw from trend or fashion—I draw from instinct, reflection, and a desire to communicate something real.

My ambitions as an artist are rooted in connection. I want to continue creating work that speaks emotionally, sensorially, and honestly. I’d love to develop larger immersive installations in the future—where people can walk into memory, experience scent and sound, and feel fully present in an artwork. I also want to expand my community engagement, mentoring emerging artists and helping others express their own emotional narratives through art.

At heart, I am a pen artist, a visual storyteller, and a memory-keeper. I create from feeling. My work invites you to pause, reflect, and step into another version of a place—one shaped by memory, senses, and story. Each mark I make is a small act of remembering. And I will keep drawing, for as long as there are stories to tell.

Portfolio Summary

My artistic journey is rooted in pen art, where I explore texture, light, and dark to create intricate interpretations of the world around me. Each piece reflects a deep engagement with memory, place, and personal connection, drawing viewers into the layers of meaning embedded in my work.

In recent years, I have expanded my practice into digital art, experimenting with new techniques while maintaining the essence of my traditional pen work. This fusion allows me to push boundaries, blending precision with fluidity to capture emotion and narrative in unique ways.

Beyond pen and digital mediums, I continuously seek unconventional materials and methods to express my ideas. From etching onto metal to crafting with found object such as transforming a washer drum into a bookshelf,my work is a testament to exploration and reinvention. I am particularly interested in how different mediums influence perception, and my current projects, including an exploration of the five senses and a series on the Spring Equinox, reflect this ongoing inquiry.

My art is a dialogue between tradition and innovation, driven by a desire to challenge perspectives and create meaningful connections through each piece.

 

 

Flourish in equinox”

As spring approaches, we are drawn to the changing light, the delicate balance of renewal, and the quiet beauty hidden in everyday moments. My artistic practice explores this search for beauty through both pen and digital mediums—each offering a distinct way to capture depth, texture, and emotion.

With pen, I embrace precision and intricacy, layering fine lines to build rich compositions that evoke memory, place, and personal connection. The organic flow of ink allows me to explore contrast, movement, and storytelling in a way that feels both deliberate and intuitive.

In digital art, I find freedom in blending form and color, using a blotched and smudged style to create atmospheric portraits and imaginative compositions. This medium allows me to push beyond the tangible, capturing fleeting emotions and ethereal qualities that might otherwise be lost.

Across both practices, my work seeks to uncover beauty—whether in the nostalgia of a childhood scene, the interplay of light and shadow in architecture, or the expressive potential of a single mark on a page. It is an ongoing journey, shaped by observation, memory, and the ever-changing world around us.

Donna Mindart is now international in the new addition to spring magazine from Collect art. 
A three page spread of my work, bio, statements and what I am looking to do in the future.

Being featured in Collect Art magazine is a significant opportunity for an artist, offering international exposure and a chance to share their creative vision with a wider audience. A three-page spread provides not just visibility but also validation—recognizing the depth and uniqueness of an artist’s work within a respected art publication.

For any artist, appearing in a magazine is more than just a milestone; it’s a moment of connection. It allows collectors, curators, and fellow artists to engage with the story behind the artwork, understanding the inspiration, process, and meaning embedded in each piece. The feature cements an artist’s presence in the contemporary art scene, potentially leading to new opportunities such as exhibitions, collaborations, and commissions.

Moreover, being published in an internationally distributed magazine extends beyond personal achievement—it contributes to the broader art conversation. It allows an artist to share their unique perspective on themes like memory, perception, and transformation, as seen in your work. This exposure helps build credibility, opening doors to further professional growth while inspiring others with your journey and creative process.

For me, this feature in Collect Art serves as a powerful platform to showcase the intricate storytelling within my pen drawings, highlighting the connection between nature, cycles, and hidden meaning. It places my work in front of an audience that appreciates depth and innovation, reinforcing the impact of my artistic practice on a global scale.