Since her beginnings as a practicing artist, Elizabeth Donsky has concentrated on multiple drawings in site-specific installations. Her projects begin with hundreds of restless drawings—inks, watercolors, encaustics; oils on paper; traces and rubbings; digital prints—and an investigation of how discrete still, permanent images can account for the passage of time and the unending transformation of matter.
Donsky has produced installations in a seaside motel, a NYC Garment District storefront, and at The Carriage House at the Islip Art Museum; her work has been exhibited in commercial, nonprofit and academic spaces. Donsky has taught at Drexel, Hofstra and Brown Universities; she received a MA in Arts and Humanities from New York University and a BFA in painting from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Courses
Wintersession 2025 Courses
PAINT 3407-101 - PAINTING FROM OBSERVATION MARATHON
Painting from Observation will be a team taught Schedule A and B marathon for 6 credits. Drawing, collage, printmaking and painting will introduce students to contemporary painting as practised by the RISD Painting Department. This course is a comprehensive introduction to painting. It is designed to develop confidence and experience with paint and painting. We will examine historical and contemporary trends and paint from life models and photo sources. Fundamental techniques for basic ground preparation, oil painting mediums and direct as well as in direct processes will be taught. Representational painting will be the primary focus but experiences in abstract painting will also be encouraged. We will learn abstract principles that organize composition, depict spatial illusion and describe form while developing a shared language for critiques. No prior painting experience is required.
