The walls of Jeanne O’Donnell’s lovely home on Park Avenue display her artwork: paintings that are complex, lyrical and full of life. Some reflect the places that she has lived, some take on abstracted motifs of foliage and flowers and, most recently, intertwined figures and faces.
What they all share is a focus on graceful lines and vibrant color. In all of her work, Jeanne expertly orchestrates the elements of art. Much is two-dimensional, some ceramics, however; there is one notable sculpture in her body of work, for a time displayed in front of the National Theatre in D.C., an elephant painted in Jeanne’s signature maximalist style. You might have walked by it there!
Jeanne grew up in DC and was influenced by local color school artists such as Gene Davis, with whom she studied. With degrees from Bennington College (BFA) and American University (MFA), she is thoughtful about her process. Jeanne’s serious studies (she also had fellowships at Skowhegan and Yaddo) are apparent in the way she creates art and describes her thoughts and her process. “I have an idea to begin with. As I work, the idea may go, but it comes back the more I work on it. It is different, but I recognize it. It’s like when a novelist talks about how the characters take over.”
Jeanne’s medium is acrylic paint; her style is dense patterning and imagery with an organic focus. Vibrant colors dominate her portfolio, although she does have an impressive black and white series, through which she was exploring the aesthetics of the contrast through line and pattern. Jeanne says that among her influences are “Islamic art of the Middle Ages and aboriginal themes from Australia.” For her motifs, she is also influenced by her surroundings. For example, she has a series of cactus paintings, inspired by the years that she lived in the deserts of Arizona. Yet no matter her subject, her overriding objective is to “come up with images that reflect an inner state akin to dreaming.”
Now, in her fourth year in Bolton Hill, Jeanne’s latest series is titled “Connections.” In these small works, she explores patterns, short staccato lines, subtle colors and images that are separate but merge. This work will be on view in the upcoming group show at MICA’s Meyerhoff Gallery, “Within Walking Distance: Local Artists in Celebration of the 200th.”
Outside of her life as a painter, Jeanne is a talented interior designer and yoga practitioner, studying in India to earn her certification as an instructor. She loves her world on Bolton Hill. Residing near the Park Avenue Fountain, she enjoys First Friday events. She is also a member of the Bolton Hill Garden Club and the Bolton Hill Girls Squad. She and her partner Louis Bernstein, a civil engineer, have twice hosted Soup Night. Jeanne is close to her daughter, Coco, who lives in Brooklyn and is studying psychology at New York University. Her puppy, Buster, is also an important part of her family, and he loves to cuddle up with her.
Jeanne’s work can be seen on her website jeanneodonnell.com, her Instagram page, @jeanneodonnellart, and a selection of her art will be posted on the BHCA Facebook page. Better, of course, would be to get an invitation to her home, where her paintings make quite an impression on the walls of her thoughtfully designed environment.
–Francine Marchese
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