“When I first started painting, I knew it was what I wanted to do. The first one I ever completed was one for my Aunt’s 80th birthday. I painted a portrait of her, and it was quite daunting because I’d chosen a huge canvas to work on. I knew she loved her chooks and her dog, and that’s what I wanted to capture in my painting. From there, I became more abstract, and it made me realise how important art can be spiritually to us. Capturing the colours, the landscape, and the animals in our area are all things that brings our community together in our experiences, because they can look at one of my paintings and see their own perspectives in it. They can come over and become curious in what I’m doing. Most importantly, I think art helps everyone in one way or another—through auctions or through livening up a home, I like to think that my art helps enrich the lives of those around me.”

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Taking her art further, Donna has achieved not only personal success in her artistic journey but also recognition as one of Outback Queensland’s incredible regional artists through exhibiting 60 of her artworks in the Qantas museum this year. Incorporating old frames, canvases, road signs and jewellery into her work, Donna’s focus on recycling has highlighted an important stance on waste in Australia.