Donald Fodness earned a BA degree in Art History from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and an MFA in Painting from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Fodness has an interdisciplinary practice that includes drawing, sculpture, furniture and installation. His drawings have been exhibited nationally and internationally.

Fodness is an active community member, curator, and collaborator with Tobias Fike as TAD Projects. He is a founding member of Hyperlink Art Collective, and co-founded Drawing Never Dies with his wife, Daisy McGowan. Drawing Never Dies hosts an artist residency in a treehouse, art exhibitions and a publication centering drawing as the most essential act of visual communication.

Since 2007 he has served in higher education at various institutions including University of Denver, Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, and CU Boulder. He currently lives and works in Denver, Colorado.