Born and raised in the rural areas around Boise, Idaho, Duana’s fascination with nature and her passion for drawing and painting began at an early age. Yearly camping and fishing trips into the Rocky Mountains were a family favorite. During these mountain outings, she was enamored with every stick, rock, and patch of moss. She loved the smell of the pine trees and the fresh mountain air. She was intrigued by nature’s colors and the patterns the sunlight made on the forest floor as it filtered through the trees and the multitude of stars in the night sky. Duana was especially fascinated by the creatures who made this beautiful place their home.
Duana began drawing as a child by copying cartoon characters from comic books and sketching horses from her favorite magazines. She got her first taste of painting with acrylics and oils on canvas in a high school art class, and it is still her favorite medium. Her family has always been very encouraging of her artwork.
Duana continued to create art while raising her own family, but sometimes chose to set it aside for years at a time to devote time to them. She was concerned that her art talent may atrophy during the down times, but instead, each time she was finally able to resume doing her artwork, she found that her gift had improved! Duana believes that God gave her the gift of artistic creativity and that He has nurtured it and caused it to grow during the times that she had to set it aside to attend to other priorities in her life. Still, she believes that she has a responsibility to study and work to improve her art.
After she married her husband, Gary, they moved their family to his hometown in southwest Colorado. There her appreciation for a new area of the Rocky Mountains grew. Living in a remote mining town about 210 miles from Grand Junction, Colorado, it is common to see many types of wildlife including bear, elk, deer, and even the occasional mountain lion. The red rock canyons and pristine mountains are a constant source of inspiration.
In 2002, they moved their family to Missouri, where Duana and her husband decided to attend college at Missouri Southern State University. Duana graduated in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Studio Art. They moved back to southwestern Colorado in the summer of 2011, where they are very happy.
Duana continues to study and create images of wildlife, nature, ranch scenes, and she vows to never stop being a student. College introduced her to new mediums and techniques for expressing her creativity. She developed new passions for metalsmithing silver jewelry and making pottery.
Duana’s primary goal is to honor the gift that the Lord has given her by using it to inspire and instill in others an awareness of and appreciation for the beauty of nature, as well as to bring a sense of joy to viewers of her art.