Chic Finds | Dana Mooney is bringing smiles to Vancouver with her art

Hey Dolls

I am so lucky to live in such a gorgeous city like Vancouver. From the breathtaking mountainside views to the scrumptious healthy dining fair, Vancouver has got it all, including fabulous artists like Dana Mooney! After being an admirer of her work for over a year, I finally had the pleasure of meeting Dana in person last week. 

I first came across Dana's work at Yaletown's The Cross Designs shop. I could not help, but smile when I saw her work. Dana uses vibrant colours and bold brush strokes to evoke a free-spirited happy mood. Also, we all know I am a sucker for yellow gold, so yup, her use of gold leaf only drew me in more! 

A trained make-up artist, turned interior decorator, Dana has dabbled in quite a few industries, but her passion for art always kept bringing her back to the acrylics. I guess her true canvas is stretched on a wooden frame and not a model's face or home interior. 

Dana loves to experiment with a variety of mediums, thus many of her works of art are multi-medium pieces. From acrylics to vibrant inks to even gouache paints, her diverse use of mediums is what makes her paintings one of a kind! While inks give her pieces vibrancy, gouache gives a unique opaque finish. I think it is really cool that Dana uses so many different  elements in creating each piece. 

Currently going into her third year as a full time artist, Dana has been experimenting with water colours and has just launched her newest collection: The Paper Works. But because she is a lover of bright colours - YAAS - she throws in bright inks and gouache paints. The Water-scape is my favourite from this collection. I am loving the strong linear lines and the gold leaf breaking up the darker colours. 

Blush Crush - from Dana's Abstract Collection

Personally, my favourite collection of Dana's has got to be her pieces that incorporate Neon Lights, a collaboration she did with another Vancouver artist, "Endeavour Neon." Her Light'em Up collection is super unique as well as fun! Only this fun gal would come up with a cool idea like that. Art is about expressing yourself and the Light'em Up collection really harnesses her bright energetic personality. Maybe this is why I am so drawn to her work because she and I are both outgoing individuals! 

It is time we celebrated and revere local talent! Gustav Klimt's The Kiss will always hold a special place in my heart; however, it is a shame we continue to lust over art by long dead artists and disregard the living. Also, who decided paintings such as the Mona Lisa should be worshipped? I honestly would never want to hang a creepy smiling not smiling women's portrait in my house?!?! 

Water Scape - From Dana's The Paper Collection (picture taken from www.danamooney.com )

Thank you Dana Mooney for bringing exciting works of art into our homes and making us smile with your gorgeous pieces! 

You can check out Dana's work at her online shop Dana Mooney or her instagram (@danamooneyart) because she is always posting fun sneak peaks of current pieces she is working on! 

Let me know in the comments below what your favourite piece of Dana's is and if there any other local artists you would want me to check out!

BYES