Donna Isham

As a native Angeleno, I've often felt slightly apart from the mainstream—not quite fitting into the "cool crowd" or the "pretty girls." Captivated by the messy, beautiful complexities of being human, my work combines figuration and abstraction to explore the fine line between what we show the world and what we keep tucked away.

I engage with a variety of mediums, including oil, cold wax, acrylic, pigment, graphite, pastel, oil stick, and fabric, drawing inspiration from live models, photographs, film, musical history, and my own memories.

My style of lyrical abstraction pays tribute to the stark dichotomies I've encountered while growing up in Los Angeles and during my travels abroad. Surrounded by mountains, deserts, and seas, and influenced by the allure and surrealism of Hollywood, my work embraces these contradictions through distinctive mark-making, color mixing, and material layering.

In my figurations, I explore the multifaceted nature of female beauty, emphasizing vulnerability, individuality, and courage. Moving beyond traditional representations of cinematic beauty, my art celebrates evolving ideals of what it means to be beautiful as a woman today. My paintings honor the inner strength, turmoil, and triumph of women, serving as testaments to their own narratives.

I invite viewers to project their imaginations into these depicted lives and landscapes, weaving their own stories and emotions, and perhaps finding moments of joy and resonance within my work.

donnaisham.com

IG @donnaisham