I’ve been painting fine art portraits professionally for over twenty-five years. A great portrait is all about the client. It has to capture both the likeness and the spirit of the subject and fit the client’s style. A beautiful composition that is meaningful to the client helps ensure the portrait will be something the family treasures for generations.
My formal training began at the Rhode Island School of Design. After graduation I went on to additional study in Europe and then School of Visual Arts in New Your City. Early in my career I illustrated children’s books for Simon and Schuster and William Morrow Publishers. I discovered my love for portraiture while doing a book that was set in Victorian era small town. I used my home town, Spring Lake, New Jersey for the setting and enlisted friends and neighbors to don period dress and be my models. The result was over 150 delicately painted watercolor portraits. I was hooked. Since that project in 1990 I have focused exclusively on portraits working with families who want a portrait they will treasure.
My work has been described alternately as naturalistic or impressionistic. Labels don’t really matter. My goal is to paint portraits that reflect the beauty, spirit and charm of my subjects in a way that both natural and idealized. I so admire the great impressionist portaitists Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt and John Singer Sargent that they have greatly influenced my work. At the same time, the style of the portrait is always the style of the client; that, is the essence of a commissioned portrait.
Portraits by Donna Ayers 
Donna, Your artistry is stunning! I used to paint, way back when, to make a couple of dollars for pizza in college and help with tuition. I never trained, never felt talented, just interested and inspired. I let go for decades. Then, I found myself wanting to ‘play’ again, so I bought some paints, a few canvases, and just played! I long for your talent, to be sure, but I am happy to be an appreciator of art and your work in particular. My long story is to honor you, as you have renewed a sense of the happy feeling I create when I try to express myself. Then, I saw you in an interview with Charlie Ward, whom I have listened to for about a month now. You have brought such spirit and meaning to this awakening we are having among us all. God Bless you, Love and Light, Janet
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