Dawn's career as an artist began when she was very young because she loved to draw and paint, and was encouraged to do so. She grew up in Glenwood in central Newfoundland, moving to Gander as a teenager. She won a local library's bookmark content, boosting her confidence so that she finally enrolled in art classes. In 1992 she had her first one woman exhibition, and in 1995 created her own Art Works Studio in Gander, Newfoundland. In 1996 she was voted "#1 Artist Off the Avalon" in the Newfoundland Herald. In 1997 her first limited edition print "Skating on a Sunday Afternoon", was featured on the cover of the Downhomer magazine. Her work has also been featured in The Bevelled Edge and in Canadian Home Based Business. Her sales have grown steadily, and nine of the 20 limited edition prints she published between 1996 and 2000 are now sold out. Dawn described her style as "impressionistic realism". She draws her inspiration from her family and home, and domestic images of children, flowers and home life permeate her work. With her husband Dean and daughter Samantha, Dawn lives a contented life making a good living doing what she loves to do.