About Me
My background
I can't remember a time when I didn't I think I was going to be an artist when I grew up. Both grandmothers were artists. One was a self-taught landscape painter. The other, a formally-taught portraitist, So I felt I had the mission and desire to round out the trifecta with still lifes.
Bio
Dana is an honors graduate from Radford University with a BFA in Art, She worked for 25 years as a Graphic Designer/Art Director winning numerous state and national awards in advertising, marketing (VPA and SNA) and printing (PIVA). From there, Dana became the Education Director for the Loudoun Academy of the Arts Foundation in Leesburg, VA for four years then the Graphic Designer for the foundation for four more years.
Dana is an award-winning painter in oils having studied with famed artist, Janet Fish, and acclaimed artists Kurt Schwarz, Danni Dawson and Maggie Siner.
In 2008, Dana's work was accepted by Butler Institute of Art.
Currently she exhibits her work in local and regional shows.
She also creates architectural renderings in pen & ink and drawings in Prismacolor and graphite pencil.
Dana is a member of The Art League in Alexandria, Oil Painters of America, Fine Art Professionals of Northern Virginia, Loudoun Arts Council and the Loudoun Sketch Club.
My vision
I respond to loose representations of organic and inorganic every-day objects next to one another in dramatic compositions. Vintage next to vegetation. Things that have relationships, maybe in ways most don't think of, maybe with a little twist. I shoot for compositions that are larger than life, tightly cropped or taken to the edge, almost to the point of tension.
I clearly enjoy painting shiny things...reflective, transparent and translucent and how they respond to light.
I strive to incorporate loose with refined brushstrokes, soft and hard edges, complementary colors in juxtaposition and true observation with exaggeration.
My most earnest goal in many of my paintings (and life) is to make you smile.
Organizations & Affiliations
