Millennium Magazine_5th Ed

24 Millennium - A Marquis Who’s Who Magazine A fter contracting Guillain-Barre syndrome, Donna M. Bonin traded her career in physical education for her first love of art. Ms. Bonin loved to draw in her childhood and teenage years, so she decided to enroll in a watercolor painting course at her community college. Within one year, she had won awards, sold paintings and got job offers. In 2000, Ms. Bonin opened the Back in Time Gallery, where she could display her work. She has also been a watercolor instructor at Loyalist College in Belleville, Ontario, since 2000. Additionally, Ms. Bonin has been featured in exhibitions and has taught art classes worldwide in Portugal, France, Italy, Greece, Belgium, Austria and Malta. Ms. Bonin was the recipient of the ARTYA Award for her entries in the “Art for a Green Planet” show in New York in 2018 and was selected as a Top 60 Masters of Contemporary Art by ArtTour International from 2015 to 2019. Ms. Bonin attributes all of her successes to perseverance and her motivation to experiment and expand her artistic horizons. This comes from her art students; many of whom have attended classes and workshops regularly for years. The most memorable moment of Ms. Bonin’s career came as a great surprise in 2013 when France’s National Society of Beaux Arts requested one of her paintings to be exhibited to represent Canada in their exhibition in the Louvre. She was awestruck and found it hard to believe. Ms. Bonin has since been selected three more times to participate in the annual show in the Louvre. The awards and recognition are appreciated, but for Ms. Bonin, the most rewarding part of her art career is teaching, earning the respect of her students and watching them excel. Ms. Bonin is a member of Art Tour International, Artist Inspo, Farscec International, Vivid Arts Network, Create for Peace, Artist’s Info, Arts Quinte West and the Belleville Art Association. She received a BA in English and history from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, in 1969. Ms. Bonin was greatly influenced by her father and late husband, both of whom were award-winning oil painters. DONNA M. BONIN OWNER Back in Time Gallery Stirling, Ontario, Canada ARTS, MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT