Astrona

Don Davis Space Art

Don Davis is an painter and animator known for his portrayals of space related subjects. His work is characterized by attention to detail and authentic portrayals based on what is known of the subject. Davis worked for the US 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.

Don Davis has done numerous paintings of impact events for publications and for NASA. In the early 1980's he created planetary texture maps for use in Jet Propulsion Laboratory computer graphic simulations of the Voyager encounters with the outer planets. During the 1980's and early 1990'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.

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 (IAAA).

Lately his work has turned primarily digital and is often seen on the Discovery Channel and The Learning Channel in various documentaries on cosmic subjects. Don Davis is considered one of the foremost artists of astronomical art, and he in fact served as a consultant for the galaxy scenes in the movie 'Contact'.

Below is a selection of some of his countless space artworks. More can be found on his website.