The Story of Sunny Dawn

The world around me reveals such incredible depth; as an artist, my life’s work is to express that beauty. I am moved by the energy and emotion of an image, and my paintings are a way for me to connect with that life force and give it a new form. My hope is that when you stand in the presence of my work, you can sense and feel what is alive within it—having a true experience in the presence of the canvas.

Foundations in the Wyoming Landscape

While I have called Boise home for the last 21 years, my creative journey truly began in the rural landscapes of Wyoming. As a child, the urge to create was a constant; I spent long hours in my room creating for the sheer love of the process and end form—from handmade books and calendars to building and painting tables.

My formal development was shaped deeply by my high school art teacher, Chris Amend. Over several years, I took every course he offered until I had exhausted the curriculum, leading him to create a specialized mentorship program. His unsurpassed technical skills and creative mind provided a nurturing environment that pushed me to finely tune my skills and find new ways to express myself. That foundation of technical excellence is something I still admire and follow in his work today.

The Academic and Adventurous Path

I continued my studies at Colorado Mountain College and later Colorado State University, where I balanced life as a single mother with a BA in Anthropology. My early days were also defined by an adventurous spirit—I followed passions for snowboarding, rock climbing, and disc golf, and spent sixteen years immersed in the world of freestyle footbag.

Even then, art was my life’s undercurrent. During my years in Fort Collins, I was an active member of the LOFI (Lovers of Fresh Ideas) artist coalition, exhibiting new work every three weeks. I also discovered the power of art as a tool for personal healing by volunteering at the Larimer County Detention Center, where I taught weekly art classes to incarcerated men and women.

My mother always encouraged me to focus on my natural artistic ability, but I was so passionate about social and cultural change that I often put art on the back burner. I spent years as the Idaho State Coordinator for the Peace Alliance and later transitioned into efforts to create an ecovillage, learning about soil health, organic gardening, and sustainable communities. At the time, I didn’t realize that art, too, had the power to make the world a better place.

The Professional Pivot: Winging It

For several decades, painting remained a private passion. I worked in watercolors, acrylics, and intuitive mandalas, creating for the sheer love of the craft. In 2018, my path took a professional turn when my good friend April Rayn invited me to co-found Winging It, an art gallery and event center in Nampa, Idaho.

Opening that space allowed me to dial in my business skills, curate exhibits, and teach classes. Although the gallery was only open for a year, it was the catalyst I needed. I walked away with my first major patron and several large commissions, including "Standing in the Light" and "Wandering Aengus." Realizing I needed a space better than my cold garage, I moved into a studio in Garden City’s Live, Work, Create District in early 2020.

Synchronicity and the Move to Oils

My transition into oil painting—now my primary and favorite medium—is a story of pure synchronicity. It began with dinner with a dear friend who encouraged me to focus on portraiture. At her urging, I declared out loud: “I promise to dedicate more time to painting portraits.”

The very next morning, while on a meditation hike with a group called the Inner Rebels, I met a woman whose story of loss during the Vietnam War moved me to tears. When she learned I was an artist, she told me about her husband, Bruce Boatner, a master oil painter who was looking to share his portraiture technique with another artist. Despite my financial hesitation, the universe provided; it was a free offering. Meeting Bruce changed my artistic life, allowing me to capture the richness and luminosity of light that I had always chased, combined with the effortlessness of blending.

Murals, Mandalas, and Life Today

In 2020, I took a leap into large-scale work. Since then, I’ve completed over a dozen murals throughout the Treasure Valley. My mural portfolio is intentionally diverse, encompassing interior and exterior works that range from private pieces to public and commercial art, both small and large-scale installations.

I also continue to explore the sacred geometry of nature through Earth Mandalas. In 2022, I completed an installation for the Idaho Botanical Gardens’ Land Art Exhibit and led my first Earth Mandala workshop. To me, the circle is an inclusive container where everything belongs—a balanced arrangement that creates beauty within beauty.

Today, you can find me in my favorite creative space to date: my studio on Vista Avenue in Boise. When I complete a painting, I feel a sense of accomplishment so profound I can hardly believe I was the source of it. I’ve learned to get out of my own way, turning off the "left brain" to let the creative force emerge. I am truly grateful to be living the life of a professional artist, dedicated to the beauty and energy of the world around me.