Artworks by Donna Daniels

The natural world offers spiritual solace and balance. Nature's order is found all around us from the tiniest blossom to the folds in the slopes of a mountain. In my art I seek to explore and share the beauty of an untamed world. My paintings seek to capture the illusion of perfection in nature, the curve of a hawk's bill or the symmetrical arrangement of feathers.  To allow others to bring a taste of this world into theirs, to freeze and frame a moment's focal point is what I strive to share with my work. Standing among the ancient mountains of Appalachia or the stark beauty of the desert Southwest, I am surrounded by inspiration for my paintings. 

The goal of my art is perhaps best expressed through the poem by Wendell Berry:

The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

— Wendell Berry 

As of January 1, 2016, my artworks will be signed as Donna Daniels, following my marriage. Works prior to that date are signed Donna Morgan.