HAVING recently had her latest work of art unveiled at a Dunfermline park, Kelty artist Donna Forrester is making her mark across the area – and beyond – with her masterpieces.
With huge paintings dotted around the region, the mum-of-two has been called on to do many mural pieces telling the story of a place – or person – in her own distinctive way.
With several eye-catching pieces in her native Kelty, there's also paintings to be seen in Dunfermline, Townhill, Comrie, Dalgety Bay, Torryburn, High Valleyfield and places further afield.
Each one tells its own story with several painting emotive pictures of some who have passed away like fallen soldier Paul Lowe, late Kelty boxer Connor Law and West Fife tot Robyn Knox who tragically died in a road accident in Townhill.
Her latest work, at St Leonard's Park, saw her collaborate with the Brucefield Tenants and Residents Association and work with Dunfermline High School to paint landmarks on a football pavilion.
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For Donna, each mural is made even more remarkable by the fact she has a fear of heights.
"In the beginning, it was horrifying," she said. "I have got a terrible fear of heights. Listening to scaffolders' advice, they said you get used to it which you do but I have to talk myself into going up another level.
"It can be very difficult while you paint it because you feel a real sense of what has happened.
"You are talking to people that are involved (in the projects). That helps you get a sense of the painting – things are driven by the community. It is never about me and what I wanted to do. I look at what did the community ask for, what did they drive.
"As long as an area feels like they have had some input, there is ownership. It feels like they have an input and ownership."
Modest Donna admits that she "completely wings it" on her artwork.
She explained: "I try not to think about things and just do it. I do like a map of doodles and use parts of the buildings. I will do a sketch of the picture on the building and photos of the building. I just wing it. I am on a wing and a prayer.
"Sometimes you have to run up a street to see what you are doing instead of just taking a step back. Because it is hand painted, you can adjust things as you go along. I feel very connected to what I am doing."
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Donna has seen the popularity of murals grow in recent years and, while there was talk previously of the possibility of more in and around the city centre in Dunfermline, she said there are often barriers to such additions.
"There has been talk of depicting local landmarks in Dunfermline but there have been struggles to get permission," she conceded. "You want to keep the integrity of an area and the history and the buildings that are very sensitive.
"I think big murals give a sense of identity. People have done that since the dawn of time. It is good to celebrate all this and finding places to do that can sometimes be the struggle.
"Perth is very good at getting things out for applications and bringing in different areas. We are a wee bit behind in Fife. There seems to be a reluctance to get official backing on things. I think it is a double edged blade."
Donna has her eyes on one location which she believes would be the perfect blank canvas.
""I have it before, one of the places would be the big Amazon building. That is huge. It would be as good as the Kelpies. I don't know what I would paint on it but that would be massive."
The talented artist got involved in painting murals after working in multi media design.
After I had my second child, I went freelance. I was working with a lot of groups and companies all over the world.
"I was working from home all the time and I started to miss the office banter. I heard about the Kelty Street Art. They had a really good work ethic and it was not long before I started doing my own projects," she added.
"It was one of these things that was word of mouth. Once you do one piece and hopefully the art work speaks for itself and it snowballed.
"What was an intention to connect with people and get involved in the community ended up being a career. Some of the projects, I can have 80 year olds working with me or high school kids. Art can bridge the gap.
"I grew up myself feeling very disconnected from the art world. It seemed like a different world to me. I feel this is somewhere in between. We get people out working. It shows people that it can be a hard graft, painting all day.
"I learn a lot about communities working in them. People come up and tell you things. It brings people together."
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