Donna McGinnis was born in Spokane Washington and grew up in an artistic family. Her mother was an artist, her grandmother a musician and her father a photographer. These silvery prints inspired McGinnis. She took early private art lessons and later went onto major in art in high school and then was awarded her Bachelors of Arts at Washington State University. After graduation, McGinnis moved to California and settled in San Francisco. With a degree in graphic design, McGinnis soon found employment as a color consultant for Fiberboard Co. Here she selected interior and exterior color palettes for housing developments. It was during her spare time that she pursued her own artistic aspirations of painting full time. With dedication, McGinnis began selling more and more until soon, her dream of becoming a professional artist became a reality. She currently lives and works in Northern California and maintains a studio at Fulton Crossing in the Santa Rosa area.

McGinnis has had work included in several museum shows including the Legion of Honor in San Francisco which has three pieces in their permanent collection, the Oakland Museum, the Triton Museum of Santa Clara, the Arkansas Art Center, Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento and the Sonoma Museum.  Her paintings have also been seen in many university shows such as Stanford University and she has participated in the Art in Embassies in the United Arab Emirates.  McGinnis has received the Marin Arts individual Artist Grant, the Grumbacher Art Award and Best in Show Award for the Bay Arts. She has done several commissions for hotels such as the Pelican Hill in Newport Beach, The Sherwood Hotel in Taiwan, the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, the Hyatt Waikiki in Hawaii along with many hospitals..

McGinnis paints in the abstract genre. Her nonobjective abstract works are contemporary and modern in composition. The abstracts start without preconceived ideas. Working mostly with palette knives and in oils, she creates luminous, layered and peaceful abstracts.

Born: Spokane, Washington Came to California: 1963

Education: B.A. Fine Arts, Washington State University