Donata Szafian is a classically-trained figurative artist. Her formal art education is rooted in Hungary. She obtained her BFA in Sculpture from Janus Pannonius University, followed by a BA in Industrial Design and MA in Jewellery Design, both from the Hungarian University of Applied Arts in Budapest. Having her background in both fine art and design gives Donata a practical and problem-solving mind-frame, an in-depth knowledge of anatomy, combined with exceptional drawing, painting and sculpting skills.
Donata funded her eight years of university by painting monochrome oil portraits in London’s Leicester Square during her summer holidays. After studying English in London, she moved to Canada and married a charming Canadian man.
Donata has been creating custom art in Ottawa while teaching a variety of courses in drawing, painting, and sculpting at Algonquin College for the past 13 years. Her constant drive to learn and take her artwork to higher standards took her to New York to study under the guidance of Nelson Shanks, Lea Colie Wight, Stephen Early, Dan Thompson and Odd Nerdrum.
