His superb talent, finely honed, took him from his boyhood home in rural Nebraska, to the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts in Illinois, to homes in Wyoming, Arizona, Colorado, then back to Wyoming, where wildlife exists in abundance.
Don was chosen as one of eight United States artists to participate in the prestigious World Wildlife Congress in Johannesburg, South Africa. He was selected to exhibit wildlife paintings at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City and at America's Bicentennial Show in Washington D.C. Don was selected as Artist of the Year 2000 by the American Eagle Foundation