Donna Jo received her B.S. in Education from Auburn University, and post graduate work at Sanford University. She taught in Alabama and Florida before immigrating to the Bow Valley in 1976, working in Environmental Education for Kananaskis Country. In 1986, she began painting watercolours making it a full-time profession in 1988.

An educator and naturalist, Donna Jo teaches weekly adult watercolour classes in Canmore and Banff, corporate and summer back- country workshops and Artist-in-Residence courses for the Alberta Foundation for the Arts. Her popular workshops have been presented by the Calgary Zoo, the Alpine Club of Canada and were the subject of an interview on CBC Radio.

Massie spends summers hiking in the mountains painting, photographing and sketching on location. This intimate knowledge and relationship with the land has led one Vancouver art critic to write about her art, “…. clear and crisp like her beloved mountains, she has a steady hand in a good eye for colour.” Her flower paintings have also become known for their rich colour and bold composition.

Her basic philosophy is that “art is teachable and learnable” and should be “fun”. Donna Jo enjoys painting the mountain landscape close to her studio-home in Canmore.

Donna Jo is a member of the Alberta Society of Artists, the Society of Canadian Artists, and Women Artists of the West. Her work has been exhibited in galleries in Vancouver, Toronto, Banff, Jasper and New Mexico and can be found in numerous private and corporate collections. In 1995, the ” Artist’s Magazine” recognized her as a finalist in the Landscape Competition. The 1998 FEESA, Alberta Government Calendar features one of her works.

Her work can be viewed at the Stephen Lowe Art Gallery, Calgary, Alberta (403 261-1602) or Canada House Gallery, Banff, Alberta (403 762-3757)