Most of us remember special teachers we’ve had, people who influenced our life’s path (though they probably had no idea they were doing so at the time). Sometimes, however, it works the other way around. In Deona Fish’s case, it was a five-year-old girl named Megan who helped our cover artist define her style.

“I was an assistant kindergarten teacher at Francine Delaney New School for Children in Asheville,” says Deona, “and I was struck by the shape of the birds in Megan’s paintings. I’ve never forgotten it.” Look at Deona’s paintings and you can often see Megan’s continuing influence.

Deona was born and raised in northeast Alabama, and says she’s been drawing and painting for as long as she can remember. “When I was really young, I even painted a mural on the back wall of my closet,” she says, not admitting one way or the other if she had her parents’ permission. Art became an imbed- ded passion.

She received her bachelor’s degree in art in 2001 from Auburn University where she focused on ceramics. “I was horrible at it, but I really had fun with it.” She also took courses in painting and figure studies, and it was these that resonated most with her.

After graduation, she moved to Western North Carolina. A few years later, she got the job at Francine Delaney where, for two summers, she also ran an art camp for the school. It was during that time she met local artist Moni Hill.

“Her daughter was one of the students,” says Deona, “and Moni often showered the teachers with gratitude. She would leave sweet letters and little pieces of art.” Seeing the joy in Moni’s life as a successful artist rekindled her own artistic desire. After Deona told Moni of her interest in painting, Moni encouraged her to follow her dream.

“I was still extremely shy about showing people my work, unsure how it would be received. But with a push from my family and close friends I came out of my shell and started showing at art festivals. People really connected with my work and that fueled me to keep going.”

Shortly after she and her life partner Joey Borders moved to a small log cabin on the side of a mountain in Leicester, Deona learned she was pregnant. It was at this point she decided to become a full-time artist. “It made the most sense to stay at home and work,” she says. And so she did. “After Ché was born, I started painting every day during his naps. Now I can’t go a day without painting. It feeds my soul and I know I have found my calling.”

Deona describes her paintings as “doorways into a nostalgic world where whim and simplicity guide you into feelings and memories still lingering from childhood.” Ché is now three years old and his mother continues to paint around his schedule. “I love creating work that someone connects with,” she says.

She uses acrylics to paint on a variety of surfaces. “Usually, I look at whatever I am painting on—an old door or a cool piece of wood, and I use the piece itself to determine what would look best on it from a design aspect.” She says she’s constantly on the lookout for materials. “My latest obsession is old doors. I love their thick, chunky borders and especially love when they have layers and layers of paint that has slowly chipped around the edges.

“Joey helps cut down the old doors and assemble frames out of any old wood or barn wood we can find. His work really complements and plays a huge role in the look of my paintings.”

For inspiration, Deona looks to nature and to her son and to the children she taught. The content is most often nature, love, friendship, and self-reflection combined with a story.

She calls her signature birds, whose influence traces back to Megan, “dream birds” because they have sleepy eyes, as do most of her characters. “The sleepy eyes for me are a way of showing a state of serenity or innocence.”

For more information, visit deonafish.com. Her paintings can be seen at Atelier 24, 24 Lexington Avenue, and Woolworth Walk, 25 Haywood Street, in Asheville. She also travels the Southeast averaging about one art show a month, and says her favorite local shows are the LEAF Festival in May and the Lexington Avenue Fun & Arts Festival in September.