CELINE MCDONALD
ARTIST STATEMENT / BOATS

I am inspired by the sea and shoreline of New England, from the far edges of Cape Cod's Provincetown where I have studied, to the far reaches of Nova Scotia where my Scottish ancestors arrived over 200 years ago. The sea is where I go for inspiration and healing, bringing back to my studio sketches, photos and memories in which to recreate what I have seen and felt there. I am not a boater but an observer of its ways. Often I paint the same boat over and over again changing its color or texture, direction or light. Like a prayer, its repetition is soothing and meditative. I see its shape as womb, cradle and casket-like, embracing beings or peacefully carrying souls into the afterlife.

CELINE MCDONALD
ARTIST STATEMENT / SHEDS

The "Shed" stands anchored and strong. It is a place of peace and balance where emotions have been shed. I arrived at this place through meditation and chanting and through the quiet of nature. This is our natural state but not one at which most of us can hold onto. We must return to the shed periodically to let go, release and forgive.  

CELINE MCDONALD
ARTIST STATEMENT / COTTAGES

I first became mesmerized by the "Cottage" as a child seeing those all in a row on route 6A in Truro. Their melody played as angles of light created endless variations. I watched as we approached them, passed by and then as I turned my head to look back from our car. Their poetry left me with a need to express what I felt and saw. The cottage, whether all in a row, a semi-circle, clustered or alone, I see as haunting with spirit and memories of its past.

 

CELINE MCDONALD 
ARTIST STATEMENT / DWELLINGS

I started the "Dwelling" series in 2020 as the pandemic began and as the protests for Black Lives Matter emerged. To dwell is defined as a place to live. To dwell is when one writes or speaks at length about a subject of anxiety or unhappiness. Also, to dwell is a pause in the motion of a machine.