Dana Johns attributes her inspirations in her work to the joy she finds in nature. "Early in my childhood I discovered joy in nature," says Dana when looking back over her artistic start.
Much of Dana’s childhood was spent outdoors on a river in South Georgia where she grew up. "It was there that the waters slowed down and settled, and I believe that the mystery of these places were pointing me to something that was beyond the realm of reality - something spiritual," says Dana. That feeling she got in nature, whatever it may have been, is what she strives to express in her art and what she hopes to share through her paintings.
Dana truly appreciates and draws inspiration from the paintings of George Inness, who wrote, "the highest art is where there has been most perfectly breathed the sentiment of humanity. Rivers, streams, the rippling brook, the hillside, the sky, the clouds - all things that we see -can convey that sentiment if we are in the love of God and the desire of truth."
One notable aspect of Dana’s artistic style is that her oil paintings begin with an initial idea or impression and evolve slowly with each layer.
