Christina McDonald is a local artist from Jacksonville. She is a self taught artist who is in Act 2 of her career. Formerly working as a dancer, choreographer and musical theater director she dabbled in painting backdrops for shows. Now Christina loves creating works of art on an acrylic medium as well was watercolors. Ms. McDonald’s work is inspired from a love of the performing arts and coastal living. Through pop art and surrealism she focuses on creating bold works of color as well as black and whites.
FREE BIRDS, February 2021
MEDIUM Acrylic on canvas
DIMENSIONS overall 30x48 inches
ARTIST A. Christina McDonald
Free Birds was created with warm, muted colors of white, tan and gray which conveys the calming effect one feels when dancing on the beach. The flowing moment of the contemporary dancer also brings to life the freedom of the birds emerging from her side. Her hair flows in ripples representing the water. Although the piece is painted with acrylics, you get the get the feel of water colors with the blending of the paint colors. The inspiration for Free Birds emerged from the artist’s love of the beach and the love of dance. The elongated lines and angular form of the dancer’s body gives a gentle feel to the organic movement. The simplicity of the white background allows the movement to speak for itself. This piece was the first of three works in the Free Birds series.
THE BEAST, April 2019
MEDIUM Acrylic on canvas
DIMENSIONS overall: 24x30 inches
ARTIST A. Christina McDonald
The Beast was created with bold and vibrant colors of black, white, gold, and gray. The dramatic stance of the dancer represents the strength required for contemporary ballet. The facial features of the figure are painted loosely without complete definition. There are hidden shapes of hearts to represent the artist’s love of dance and teardrops to represent sorrow as a dancer’s career comes to an end due to age or due to injury. Body movement can be used as a form of communication and expression. It can also be used for self-expression where the body does the talking and words are not needed or necessary. The Beast displays elements of movement through space, force, and energy. This piece is from a series of three painting created by the artist. They were the first dance painting done by Ms. McDonald after retiring from a lifelong dance career.
