“While growing up in a rural mid-western town, I preferred to spend my time in the fields and woods. Captured by the tones and textures of what I saw there, I would draw the woodlands and cornfields of my home. I would bring back collections of bark, corn husk and bones to reference and apply to my creations.

 

In 2004, I received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting from the Cleveland Institute of Art. Upon graduating, I moved to Montana in search of true wilderness. My artistic vision revolves around my experiences exploring and backpacking through the Mission Mountain Wilderness, the Swan Mountain Range, the Flathead National Forest, and the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

 

I memorize what I see and make drawings and paintings as I explore the vast wilderness. I experience painting the way I do the landscape. It holds the same quietness, the same search. Through the layering of paint and materials, I begin to find continuity with what I’ve discovered in nature.”

 

In 2010, Dana had a solo exhibition at the Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art in Great Falls, titled “True Remains”, a body of work about the forest fires of Montana. In 2019 she had a second solo exhibit at the Paris Gibson titled, “Forgotten Lands” a body of work about the preservation of Montana’s wetlands. Dana’s work has been exhibited at the Missoula Art Museum, the Holter Museum of Art in Helena, the Yellowstone Art Museum in Billings, and the Hockaday Museum of Art in Kalispell. Her paintings have been represented by the Dana Gallery in Missoula since 2013.

 

Dana’s work is part of private and public collections across the state and throughout the nation. See her original artwork at Best of the West Art Show.