“Greetings from a Real Cowgirl from the Ole Southwest.”

These are the lines from a c. 1935 postcard that Donna stumbled upon in 1972 while attending college at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX. Immediately attracted by the charm and confidence of the cowgirl seated atop a horse in the postcard, she began incorporating the cowgirl figure into her work, as well as collecting and researching these old-time cowgirl images. Before long, this iconic figure was the central theme in the contemporary settings of Donna’s pieces. Donna’s works are largely mixed-media. She works on paper and canvas in a mix of charcoal, pastel and acrylic most often leaving her charcoal under-drawing visible.

In Donna’s pieces, the cowgirl achieves the status of a heroine, and her images have brought her national attention and success. Her work is rich with symbolism and allusions to classical mythology, but the viewer does not need to be familiar with the references in order to appreciate the female affirmations of each piece.