Brave Waves by Dana Cowie

This painting depicts an young woman and an older woman walking into the waves together. The child looks a little uncertain but the older woman gently guides her into the water. As a mother I see the importance of teaching and guiding our children and I think that is why I was inspired to paint this piece. Not only for the movement and colour of the water but the underlying meaning. As an artist, I am attracted to these types of scenes that are essentially small moments in our lives that can be so meaningful.

Dana spent much of her childhood in Hamilton before enrolling in the visual art program at Central Technical School in Toronto. She has also lived in Japan and in Victoria, British Columbia. Her work has been exhibited in solo shows and group exhibitions at several galleries, including Canvas Galleryand Westland Gallery. She has sold work through the Art Gallery of Hamilton, the West Hamilton Artists Tour and from her private studio, and has clients across Canada, the United States, England, Germany and Sweden. She also accepts commissions. Her paintings have also been featured in the Hamilton Spectator, Hamilton Magazine, House & Garden magazine (UK), and The Mayfair Life Magazine (UK). Dana is also an art instructor, having taught both privately and at the Art Gallery of Hamilton. She lives in Owen Sound with her family and travels regularly for her work.

​Using an impasto, painterly technique in oil and bold use of colour I create moments of joy. Small points in time draw me in as my subject matter.  Fleeting moments that are simple, meaningful and accessible are relevant in my work. My paintings are an impression of light and form and a thought of a happy memory that is to be stopped in time.

Using classical oils and painting on my grandmothers 1940’s easel, I work instantaneously across my canvas, creating layers of colour that overlap as the image emerges as an organic abstraction of a my inspiration. As each piece emerges, a chapter in the novel of the story I am telling is created. As in life, our story is played out each day without knowing the future. My work celebrates living in the moment.