About Donna

It’s All About the Art
Sometimes I feel like I should’ve been a botanist or biologist instead of a fine arts oil painter. I’m always searching to find information about my flora or fauna painting subjects. What are their habits? What are their lifespans? Where can they be found? My passion for the specific scientific knowledge increases my familiarity of each subject. I believe one should “paint what you know”.

I’ve been so lucky. Art wove through my early years in advertising and publishing. That resulted in the development of my personal dimension of oil painting over the last 20+ years – especially in the painting of incredible natural environments of undersea world marine life.

I spend most of each week plein air and/or studio painting. My work is represented by the Upstairs Art Gallery, Healdsburg, California and Corrick’s in downtown Santa Rosa, California. Two weekends each Fall I am a part of Sonoma County Art Trails at my home studio in Dry Creek Valley just outside Healdsburg, California. Contact me and I’ll let you know what the details are for this year’s event.

But It’s All About the Adventure Too
I’ve been a scuba diver since just after college. From Mendocino to Catalina, to Florida, plus all over the Caribbean and South Pacific. I’ve pursued scuba diving adventures, frequently on liveaboard dive boats. Each trip has added to the gigabytes of reference images; a lifetime of marine life painting reference material!

And I love the adventure of horseback riding. We had our own horses for quite a few years and took them all over Northern California to ride. Plus, Charlie and I went on three horseback riding adventures in Iceland in the 90s. One of our rides was 21 days long. We toured a large part of the western half of the island.

When I was in my 20s I was into bicycling. I rode halfway across the US with the 1976 Bikecentennial. In ’77 I went to Britain and did a Cotswold Hills tour with the British Cycle Touring Club. Then I went with another group of British riders to Bulgaria and rode around  the countryside there for 10 days. It was still behind the iron curtain then, quite the experience. Charlie and I did rides around California after that, but then switched to horses. Now I just hike, but not as much as I should…..

And It’s All About the Fun
Some of my biggest adventures in life so far have been riding a snowmobile to the top of Snaefellsnes Jokull in Iceland, snorkeling with a juvenile humpback whale for four hours, ziplining, flying in a glider plane that was catapulted from the ground, diving the wrecks of Truk Lagoon, etc. etc. I can be more mundane too. I love growing my flowers for bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. I love singing in the local community chorus and I’ve been known to can many containers of sauces, jams and chutneys. Check out the pictures of me below. It’s some of my scuba diving and a few snorkeling adventures throughout the world for the last 40+ years.

Snorkeling Selfie
Humpback
Donna & Humpback in Tonga 2019
Clownfish in Tonga, 2019
Blue Heron Bridge, Florida 2019
Blue Heron Bridge, Florida 2019
Donna with Cowfish, Florida Gulf, 5-10-2015
Donna and Goliath Grouper, Florida Gulf 2015
Fiji, Namena Marine Reserve 2014
Fiji Nudibranch 2014
Donna and Clownfish in Fiji 2014
Donna and Fijian Clam 2014
Cleaner Shrimp on My Lip In Fiji 2014
Donna Meeting Whale Shark in Mexico 2013
Yucatan Loggerhead Turtle 2013
Donna with Spiny Lobster in Yucatan 2013
Yucatan Fresh Water Cenote Cave Diving, 2013
Yucatan Fresh Water Cenote Cave Diving, 2013
Solomons Sea Star 2011
Solomons Clownfish 2011
Puffy Sea Star in Solomons, 2011
Sea Star in Providencia, Columbia 2009
Snorkeling in Providencia, Columbia 2009
Wreck Dive in Tahiti 2007
Wrasse in Tahiti 2007
New Guinea Clownfish, 2001
New Guinea
Palau Giant Clam 2000
Palau Clownfish 2000
Turks and Caicos, 1997
Truk Lagoon Plane Wreck 1993
Truk Lagoon Motorcycle1993
Roatan, 1991
Roatan Crab, 1991
Safety Stop Roatan, 1991
Grouper in Little Cayman, 1989
Little Cayman Conch, 1989
Whitsunday Islands, Austrailia1989
Maui
Anegada BVIs Sea Turtle 1985
Anegada BVIs Sea Turtle 1985
Snorkeling Selfie
Donna + Guide and a Juvenile Humpback, Tonga, August 2019
Donna & Humpback in Tonga 2019
Clownfish in Tonga, 2019
Blue Heron Bridge, Florida 2019
Blue Heron Bridge with Sea Star, Florida 2019
Donna with Cowfish, Florida Gulf, 5-10-2015
Donna and Goliath Grouper, Florida Gulf 2015
Fiji, Namena Marine Reserve 2014
Fiji Nudibranch 2014
Donna and Clownfish in Fiji 2014
Donna and Fijian Clam 2014
Cleaner Shrimp on My Lip In Fiji 2014
Donna Meeting Whale Shark in Mexico 2013
Yucatan Loggerhead Turtle 2013
Donna with Spiny Lobster in Yucatan 2013
Yucatan Fresh Water Cenote Cave Diving, 2013
Yucatan Fresh Water Cenote Cave Diving, 2013
Solomons Sea Star 2011
Solomons Clownfish 2011
Puffy Sea Star in Solomons, 2011
Sea Star in Providencia, Columbia 2009
Snorkeling in Providencia, Columbia 2009
Wreck Dive in Tahiti 2007
Wrasse in Tahiti 2007
New Guinea Clownfish, 2001
New Guinea, 2001
Palau Giant Clam 2000
Palau Clownfish 2000
Turks and Caicos, 1997
Truk Lagoon Plane Wreck 1993
Truk Lagoon Motorcycle Encrusted 1993
Roatan, 1991
Roatan Crab, 1991
Safety Stop Roatan, 1991
Grouper in Little Cayman, 1989
Little Cayman Conch, 1989
Whitsunday Islands, Australia 1989
Maui, Hawaii Cushion Star 1986
Anegada BVIs Sea Turtle 1985
Anegada BVIs Bone Wreck 1985
Bahamas, 1983
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707-328-5281

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