Donovan was born in Sorrento, British Columbia in 1984. He began painting in trade for wine and cigarettes while working at a surf shop on Lower Lonsdale in 2005. He, his wife Barclay and their baby girl live in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island where they run The Ou Artist Residency and Pelago Footwear.

“I often create my own narrative for the images while working on them, like a movie script, and hope the work lends to a cinematic feeling. Though, I do not feel that a painting will speak the same language to every viewer and sometimes it’s better to watch without the subtitles.” -DR