Don Davis (artist)
Encyclopedia
Don Davis is an artist
known for his portrayals of space related subjects. His work is characterised by attention to detail and authentic portrayals based on what is known of the subject. Chesley Bonestell
, considered by many to be one of the most accomplished practitioners of the space art
genre, critiqued Davis's early paintings and encouraged him to pursue an artistic career.
Davis worked for the U. S. Geological Survey's branch of Astrogeologic Studies during the Apollo Lunar expeditions and has since painted many images for NASA
. The NASA art included portrayals of interiors of giant space colonies, based on the work of Gerard O'Neill. He was part of the team of space artists gathered to provide the visual effects for the PBS series 'Cosmos' by Carl Sagan
. Later he painted the cover of Sagan's Pulitzer Prize winning book The Dragons of Eden. Other books by Carl Sagan including Don's work are Comet and Pale Blue Dot.
Davis has done numerous paintings of impact event
s for publications and for NASA. In the early 1980s he created planetary texture maps for use in Jet Propulsion Laboratory computer graphic simulations of the Voyager encounters with the outer planets. During the 80's and early 90's Davis created models and film animations as part of the visual effects production teams for the PBS shows 'Planet Earth', Infinite Voyage', 'Space Age', and 'Life Beyond Earth' with Timothy Ferris.
He painted and filmed in 35 mm an animation of the Galileo probe entry into Jupiter for NASA Ames. Numerous sequences for Discovery Channel
science shows such as 'Savage Sun' and 'Cosmic Safari' were later created using computer graphic animation methods. Animations done in immersive hemispheric formats for planetarium type domed theaters now form the balance of his work.
Don Davis received an Emmy for his work on 'Cosmos', and the 2002 Klumpke-Roberts Award by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific for outstanding contributions to the public understanding and appreciation of astronomy. The asteroid 13330 Dondavis
is named after him. In 2000 he was elected a Fellow in the International Association of Astronomical Artists
.
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
known for his portrayals of space related subjects. His work is characterised by attention to detail and authentic portrayals based on what is known of the subject. Chesley Bonestell
Chesley Bonestell
Chesley Bonestell was an American painter, designer and illustrator. His paintings were a major influence on science fiction art and illustration, and he helped inspire the American space program...
, considered by many to be one of the most accomplished practitioners of the space art
Space art
Space art is a general term for art emerging from knowledge and ideas associated with outer space, both as a source of inspiration and as a means for visualizing and promoting space travel. Whatever the stylistic path, the artist is generally attempting to communicate ideas somehow related to...
genre, critiqued Davis's early paintings and encouraged him to pursue an artistic career.
Davis worked for the U. S. Geological Survey's branch of Astrogeologic Studies during the Apollo Lunar expeditions and has since painted many images for NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
. The NASA art included portrayals of interiors of giant space colonies, based on the work of Gerard O'Neill. He was part of the team of space artists gathered to provide the visual effects for the PBS series 'Cosmos' by Carl Sagan
Carl Sagan
Carl Edward Sagan was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, science popularizer and science communicator in astronomy and natural sciences. He published more than 600 scientific papers and articles and was author, co-author or editor of more than 20 books...
. Later he painted the cover of Sagan's Pulitzer Prize winning book The Dragons of Eden. Other books by Carl Sagan including Don's work are Comet and Pale Blue Dot.
Davis has done numerous paintings of impact event
Impact event
An impact event is the collision of a large meteorite, asteroid, comet, or other celestial object with the Earth or another planet. Throughout recorded history, hundreds of minor impact events have been reported, with some occurrences causing deaths, injuries, property damage or other significant...
s for publications and for NASA. In the early 1980s he created planetary texture maps for use in Jet Propulsion Laboratory computer graphic simulations of the Voyager encounters with the outer planets. During the 80's and early 90's Davis created models and film animations as part of the visual effects production teams for the PBS shows 'Planet Earth', Infinite Voyage', 'Space Age', and 'Life Beyond Earth' with Timothy Ferris.
He painted and filmed in 35 mm an animation of the Galileo probe entry into Jupiter for NASA Ames. Numerous sequences for Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
science shows such as 'Savage Sun' and 'Cosmic Safari' were later created using computer graphic animation methods. Animations done in immersive hemispheric formats for planetarium type domed theaters now form the balance of his work.
Don Davis received an Emmy for his work on 'Cosmos', and the 2002 Klumpke-Roberts Award by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific for outstanding contributions to the public understanding and appreciation of astronomy. The asteroid 13330 Dondavis
13330 Dondavis
13330 Dondavis is a main-belt asteroid discovered on September 25, 1998 by Spacewatch at Kitt Peak.It is named for the space artist Don Davis .- External links :*...
is named after him. In 2000 he was elected a Fellow in the International Association of Astronomical Artists
International Association of Astronomical Artists
The International Association of Astronomical Artists , is a non-profit organization whose members implement and participate in astronomical and space art projects, promote education about space art and foster international cooperation in artistic work inspired by the exploration of the...
.