By Susan Friedland
Studying to become a dental hygienist seems an unlikely path to becoming an equine fine art painter, but for Donna Smyth of Temecula, California, it has been both a practical and colorful journey. Donna, an oil painter with a soft spot for wild horses, describes her style as realism with some abstractism. “I don’t want to paint a photograph; I want to interpret and put a little sentiment into it.”
Donna’s Southern California art studio, housed in an Old West structure left over from the Butterfield stagecoach line, features neutral gray walls, a horse skull for anatomy study and a view of her three-stall backyard barn. As a little girl living in Florida, Donna’s creative haven was a table in the family room with a collection of watercolors, India ink and paint brushes.
Donna’s father died when she was a young child and, because of a modest upbringing, Donna’s family never took vacations. Although Donna excelled in all the art classes she took throughout her K-12 education, when deciding on job options, she selected a practical and secure career choice. She chose to become a dental hygienist.
A Working Tourist
Because Donna longed to see the world and revel in the art of the masters firsthand, upon completing her hygienist training, she called the Swiss Embassy in Atlanta. She inquired about working in Switzerland, a country that did not have many dental hygienists at the time. Donna received an application, filled out the paperwork and shortly thereafter, accepted a phone call from a dentist in downtown Zurich, offering her a job. Donna packed two suitcases and purchased a one-way ticket to Europe.
“I called myself a working tourist,” Donna said. Zurich was perfect for quick jaunts to European art museums and the mountains for outdoor adventures. While living and working in her new city, Donna took art classes in the evenings. She enjoyed the instruction but felt the classes were more geared toward a hobbyist, not someone yearning to create fine art.
In addition to her involvement in painting classes, Donna joined a ski club. “I’m a terrible skier,” Donna laughed. “I’m from Florida. I broke my collarbone in Davos.” Even though skiing might not have been her dream hobby, while hitting the slopes, Donna met a fellow skier, an engineer named Anthony from Belfast, Ireland. The two young people, far away from their respective homes, took a shine to each other and began dating, visiting cities like Paris, Florence and Venice on weekends.
Family, Horses and an Atelier
Donna and Anthony married in Zurich and eventually welcomed their first child, Chloe, into their family. When they returned to the U.S., the young family moved to California. Their son, Tristan, was born and both children got involved with the horse community near Poway, outside of San Diego. Donna volunteered as a District Commissioner for Pony Club, and Chloe competed in eventing and barrel racing. Today Chloe is a professional trainer and four-star eventer; her business, White Horse Eventing, is based in Temecula, and Donna is still a barn mom. Tristan took up the sport of polo and played collegiate polo for Southern Methodist University. Today Tristan is in the first year of his surgical residency in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Throughout her busy adult life as a hygienist, volunteer and mom, Donna attended art classes, but she wanted to progress. Ten
years ago, Donna began studying under Jeff Watts at the Watts Atelier in Encinitas, California, which was an artistic and career turning point. As she was learning human anatomy from the master artists at the atelier, Donna would transfer the new knowledge to her favored art subject: horses.
“If I were studying arms and legs at school, I would work on horses’ legs, reapplying the same work of drawing, breaking it down, muscles and anatomy. I like still life and I like the human form, but there is this thing that captivates me—horses I’m wild about.”
Donna’s personal equine muses live right outside the window of her art studio in a three-stall adobe-style barn. Today the fine art painter, with a side job as her four-star eventing trainer daughter’s morning farm hand, spends around four hours in the morning with horses feeding them and giving medications. “I’m up close to horses and I can double check anatomy and light.” When her daughter competes, she is a horse show groom.
Art Shows and Horse Shows
Donna’s first art show was the Nations Cup in Wellington, Florida, in 2020. Her excitement turned to dismay when the professionally-packaged art shipped from Southern California never made it to Wellington. “I mailed two paintings, and they got as far as Gainesville, and the shipping company reported them as damaged and they were discarded. I think it was a truck accident.” The art show organizers were supportive and asked Donna to overnight a painting—whatever she wanted to send. “An art friend told me that kind of thing happens, but not usually your first show,” Donna said.
The unfortunate shipping incident happened on Valentine’s Day, and Donna said, “I’m hoping someone in Gainesville found them and took them to their Valentine.” One of the paintings was a profile of a little sorrel horse. She later recreated the painting. “I wanted whatever new skill had come into me to be there. My hand and eye dexterity is always improving.”
After her inaugural art show at the Nations Cup, Donna showed and sold paintings at Cowgirl Up, including Doe-Eyed Buckskin, Picasso Posing and Cimarron’s Wild Dreads, which depict Mustangs from the Sand Wash Basin herd in Colorado. “I love their wildness—I love everything about them. Their imperfections are what make them so appealing.”
Mustangs are special to Donna, and one of them lives in her backyard. Her 21-year-old liver-and-white Mustang, Gracie, was a 3-year-old in a kill pen when Donna adopted her from a non-profit that rescued her. The Smyths later added Romeo to their family.
Donna’s art has also appeared at Stay Wild American Wild Horse Campaign, the Scottsdale Arabian Show, Halt Cancer at X and Art of the Horse in Fallbrook, California. In the fall of 2022, Donna took part in the 11th annual SLOPOKE art show, which was held at Flag Is Up Farm, the ranch of horseman Monty Roberts. “Debbie, Monty’s daughter, walked a mini through the art show. It was hilarious, and I thought, This is my kind of show.” While Donna was at SLOPOKE, her daughter, Chloe, was competing at Twin Rivers Horse Trials. The mother and daughter duo were hotel roommates as they both pursued their horse endeavors.
In early 2023, Donna’s painting of a mini donkey based on one she saw in a free-roaming herd near Bakersfield was shown at The Tiny Show at Pence Gallery in Davis, California. The name of the show stems from the 5×7-inch size of the panels sent to each artist. And Donna’s real life is now imitating art. This February Donna adopted Molly, a donkey, who now lives in the backyard with Gracie and Romeo. “Molly was intercepted by a rescue group as she was heading to a high-risk auction. She had some health issues, was emaciated, her teeth needed work and she seemed so fragile the first few days that I waited to post about her. She has recovered her health, her brays are getting longer and stronger and she has developed a distinctly sassy attitude.”
For more information, visit donnasmyth.com and on Instagram @donnasmythfineart
