M Stark Gallery Presents Donna Fenstermaker: "Inspired"

M Stark Gallery presents Donna Fenstermaker: Inspired
paintings/oil on canvas
2025 May 17 – June 29
Public reception for the artist Sunday, May 18, from 1-4PM
Artist talk Friday, June 6 at 5PM, part of First Friday: Art on Main in historic Downtown Half Moon Bay

Donna Fenstermaker is inspired by the natural world. She is always carefully observing her surroundings, memorizing fleeting changes in atmosphere and light until she can spend time in her studio and record her interpretation of the moment. Her abstracted landscapes are deeply informed by her mastery of printmaking, with flat expanses of light and dark color employed to create the illusion of depth.

New work in this exhibition was inspired by a stay in the M Stark Gallery artists residency program in August 2024. Fog is an ongoing series for Fenstermaker who found new inspiration in the signature Half Moon Bay fog and the twisted, gnarled, weathered Monterey Pines along the Coastal Trail.

Fenstermaker received her B.A. in studio art from San Jose State University with a concentration in ceramics, and her M.F.A. in printmaking from California College of Arts and Crafts (now CCA). She taught art in the Contra Costa Community College District for over twenty years. She is an active participant in the Bay Area contemporary art community, often exhibiting her work multiple times per year. Her media include painting, drawing, bookmaking, sculpture, and printmaking. Fenstermaker lives in Berkeley and works in Oakland.

Pictured: Donna Fenstermaker, Monterey Pine 2, 2024, oil on canvas, 40 x 30 inches

M Stark Gallery, 727 Main Street, Half Moon Bay, 94019, 415.407.8743, mstarkgallery.com
Saturdays 11-5, Sundays 11-4, First Fridays 4-6, and by appointment Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays