By Trina “Indi” Johnson
Special to the PRESS
Trevor and Vanessa Donnelly, the husband-and-wife duo behind The Donnelly Collective from Harlingen, are infusing Port Isabel’s art scene with vibrant, contemporary energy. Having recently settled into a shared space at the Port Isabel Art Gallery on Maxan Street, the couple will begin showcasing their collaborative work on September 1.
Their large-scale, abstract portraits blend recognizable figures with vivid layers of color, shape, and movement, creating a striking fusion of realism and imagination. Their style, a dynamic mix of portraiture and abstraction, invites viewers into a dreamlike yet grounded experience, where multiple perspectives converge on a single canvas. The Donnelly Collective’s works add a distinctive and energetic voice to the Rio Grande Valley’s growing art community.
The Collective’s move marks not just a change in location, but an opening. Their shared gallery space provides a backdrop where personality and chaos, identity and abstraction, can coexist on the same canvas without losing themselves. In Port Isabel, where stories and salt air have long mingled, the Donnelly Collective adds a new voice, one that speaks in brush strokes and bold scales, inviting reflection, confusion, and discovery all at once.
“We are husband and wife, and we both have some artistic background from our past that we just recently discovered in each other, so we decided to do collaborative artwork as a way to bond in our marriage,” Trevor said. Their creative process blends Trevor’s skill in portraiture with Vanessa’s flair for abstract design. “We blend Trevor’s ability to paint portraits with my ability to paint stylistic abstract designs. So Modern contemporary – Abstract would be a good fit to describe our art,” Vanessa said.
The move has inspired new energy in their work. “The ocean and island vibes are definitely a peaceful plus in our book. I’ve been able to open my mind more here since moving from LA. We’ve been able to pull inspiration from a lot of locations down here in the RGV,” Trevor said. For Vanessa, it has meant an opportunity to take their art more seriously. “It means the ability to take our art more seriously, and share our expressions and journey with the world. I never thought I’d be able to do art full-time in this capacity before,” she said.
Their collaborative process is both intuitive and deliberate. “We tend to create things from what we are inspired by, celebrities, life, and anything meaningful to us or our history. The process is simple, Vanessa designs stylistic abstract patterns or references, and I add to them with portrait painting depending on the theme we were going for,” Trevor said. Vanessa added, “We draw inspiration from anything around us, whether it be an artist we are both into, an experience in life, like a place we have recently visited, or just trying to expand our creativity in general. South Padre Island and several places in California have been some moments of inspiration for me personally. We also pull from the culture down here in the RGV as well.”
The partnership creates a unique artistic identity. “It allows us to lock in specific ideas and bring them to life. It also allows us to have a similar style that kind of brands us apart from other artists,” Trevor said. Vanessa hopes visitors recognize their distinct approach. “That we are essentially different, and our art is not similar to anyone else’s in the gallery. We try to go for more modern styled art,” she said. Trevor added, “I hope they find something inspiring in our art, in our message, and just the fact that we are married and tackling this thing called ‘art’ together lol.”
The Donnellys are part of a broader artist community at the Port Isabel Art Gallery, which operates from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. “For the Port Isabel art gallery, they are open from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. We don’t own the gallery; we are part of an art community with other artists there that help and volunteer to run it,” Trevor said.
Their work is gaining traction beyond the Valley. “Just the Port Isabel gallery for now/ we start showcasing our art Sep 1st, but we have been accepted into Art Basel Miami in December this year,” Trevor said. Vanessa added, “Oh, and we were at the Harlingen Bazaar for a couple of art nights.”
Art is intertwined with their family life. “My husband Trevor and I have always been artists; he went to art school in high school and college. He was also a musician signed to Rostrum Records in Hollywood, California, some years ago. I was a fashion designer at one point, then I shifted to PR work in LA for a while. Since the move out of California, our daughters are both Volleyball players. Our oldest daughter plays for the Harlingen Area Volleyball travel team, and she just made the A team for her middle school at Memorial Middle School,” Vanessa said.
Despite challenges like creative blocks and balancing family schedules, the couple has been uplifted by unexpected support. “We were not expecting so many people on our social media or family and friend circles to be so amazed or supportive of our artwork,” Trevor said. Vanessa echoed, “I was not expecting the attention.”
Looking forward, Vanessa dreams big. “I have dreams of expanding our collections/artwork across the United States,” she said. Trevor sees their work as a challenge to artistic boundaries, saying, “Hopefully shifting the expectations in the art space to a broader perspective and essentially letting people know that anything is possible with art and there are no limitations, only the ones we set on ourselves.”
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