Don Meadows paints portraits, and airplanes, and other subjects. He is a juried member of the Portrait Society of Atlanta (PSA) and an Artist member of the American Society of Aviation Artists (ASAA). He’s also a member of the Portrait Society of America and the League of World War One Aviation Historians.

 

I was born on the winter solstice in Detroit. I've traveled extensively since then, and now live in Powder Springs, GA, west of Atlanta, with my wife Marella and two elderly cats.  

 

As a kid, I started learning art techniques by watching Jon Gnagy drawing programs on TV. I got my first set of oil paints as a Christmas present when I was 12 years old. In high school, I took art classes and joined the art club.

 

My grandfather was a jeweler, my dad and uncles were jewelers, and my brothers became jewelers. After high school, I earned money for college repairing jewelry and painting sale signs for a clothing store. In part from that jewelry background, I view quality materials, design, and craftsmanship as essential elements of my works.

 

At Wayne State University in Detroit, I initially majored in art education. I took design, drawing, art history, and photography classes. Then I switched majors to art and photography, then finally settled on journalism. After graduation, I embarked on a career as a newspaper reporter. I later earned a master’s degree in journalism from The Ohio State University. I briefly taught journalism, then worked as a medical newsletter editor, a technical editor for a pulp and paper association, and finally, as a public health reports editor at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, from which I retired in 2024.

 

Throughout my journalism career and while raising a family, I continued to paint and develop my skills as an artist. I read books and articles about art methods and techniques. I visited art museums and attended workshops.

 

Although still partial to oil paints, I've been revisiting and exploring other media, including colored pencil, watercolor pencil, ink pen, graphite, watercolor, gouache, pastels, and sculpture.

 

More than a dozen of my paintings have been accepted into PSA exhibitions and a few into ASAA exhibitions. I've served as editor of Folio (PSA’s quarterly magazine), PSA Executive Board secretary, and PSA president (2023-2025). Since 2024, I've been hosting a monthly chat and challenge for PSA members. I also write for ASAA’s Aero Brush magazine. My “MiG 46” painting was used as the cover for the Summer 2019 Aero Brush. My “Eyes Above the Trenches” painting was included in the ASAA 2019 International Aerospace Art Exhibition at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. It was also used as the cover image for the Autumn 2018 issue of Over the Front.