Featured Artist Bonnie T. Gardner

Artist Bonnie Gardner’s watercolors show animals with human qualities in vignettes drawn from everyday life; a night on the town, a scene in a barbershop, the contrast between rich and poor. Visit her website to see more.

 

 

Since I was a small child, I have always been fascinated by artwork that depicted animals having human qualities.

 

 

Old Uncle Wiggily book illustrations, Bugs Bunny cartoons, the work of William H. Beard and J.J. Grandville have always captured my imagination.

 

 

In my early twenties, I moved to New York City to become an illustrator. It was while doing this job that I cut my teeth perfecting my rendering skills as an illustrator. I also developed storytelling abilities as an editorial illustrator.

 

 

My work is often autobiographical in nature, even though it features animals. A painting of cats crammed into a New York City taxi represents an exciting night on the town where a group of friends and I would pile into a cab, ready for a night of adventure.

 

 

Animals drinking in a bar represent my observations of people drinking to excess. I always try to create a snapshot of true life through my paintings.

 

 

In my artwork I strive to show contrasts—the rich and the poor, the strong and the weak, order among chaos. While my artwork can be playful and funny, there can also be darker elements to it which creates a certain amount of tension in the painting.

 

 

When I was a child we used to visit my great grandmother, who came from old money. We were not allowed to touch anything in her home and never felt accepted or welcomed.

 

 

The scenes I have painted, such as the wealthy dogs sitting comfortably in a car and laughing at drenched cats in the rain, represent my own feelings as a child. I felt like I was being kept outside, only looking in. I often poke fun at the illusion of control and power that accompanies wealth.

 

 

I love when people tell me while viewing my artwork that they find themselves looking again and again to discover something that they did not see previously.

 

 

To me, there is no greater gift in life than to be able to create a painting and see it evolve. I can never predict the outcome of a painting as it develops over time. In that way, art imitates life and life imitates art.

 

Artist Bonnie Gardner invites you to follow her on Facebook.

 

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