meet Dana.

A smiling woman with short, curly, styled hair, wearing earrings, a nose ring, a necklace, and a T-shirt in front of a tiled wall.

Dana Butler

Artist

Dana is grateful to live in the Denver, Colorado area with her two always-entertaining teenagers, Isaac and Maia; her affectionately ridiculous felines, Addi and Zorro; and her gorgeous fiancee, too, on the weekends Kim’s able to be in town. She loves assisting and leading worship with the band at her church, frolicking amidst mountains and rivers with her people, and sneaking away to Chicago to go out to breakfast with her beloved. If she’s not at a volleyball game cheering for her daughter at an embarrassing volume, you’ll likely find her in front of her easel, wearing far too much paint, with a cat nearby supervising her creative process.

Four people sitting on a ski lift, smiling and holding water bottles, with a mountain and trees in the background.

Dana came out in early 2024, and has been finding her way “out” ever since. Painting has been an important vehicle for her in that journey, helping her excavate, understand, and share her path of learning and becoming.

Dana’s love for Christ is central to her creative practice, and while she considers herself a Christian (though not of the conservative evangelical variety), her hope is that her work will speak to contemplative souls from a wide spectrum of backgrounds.

Dana’s son Isaac - age 16 - is a sophomore (how is this possible?). He is into gaming, making up cool snack recipes in the kitchen, playing his guitar, working out, and growing ever taller than his mother. Her daughter Maia is in 8th grade and is loving the extra little bit of independence that comes with being a newly-minted teenager. These days, Dana spends significant time cheering Maia on in volleyball, encouraging her at violin, driving her to watch school friends compete at various sporting events… and... well, annoying both kids by throwing out a “six seven” as often as possible.

Dana met Kim entirely by accident - in a Facebook group of thousands - in late 2024. They weren’t looking for each other, but are so grateful they found each other anyway. They are engaged and plan to marry in a few years. When they get to be together (long distance is rough!), they can often be found going for a walk or a hike, snuggling on the couch with Netflix and cats, trying a new breakfast restaurant (suggestions in either Denver or Chicago are always welcome!), or staring each other down over a ping pong table. (Okay, truthfully, Kim is pretty much guaranteed to be kicking Dana’s you-know-what when ping pong is involved.)

Dana and Kim taking a selfie in front of train tracks during sunset, smiling, one wearing sunglasses and the other with curly hair and a nose piercing.