About Deb Chaney, Contemporary Abstract Artist
Deb Chaney is a contemporary abstract artist, published author, speaker, & workshop facilitator. Her layered mixed media artwork is inspired by her inner spiritual journey to personal empowerment.
Self taught, with a B.Sc. from the University of Victoria in Earth and Ocean Sciences, she began her artistic journey by taking a number of workshops with artists whom she'd admired, and then selling and exhibiting her work at outdoor fairs and cafes.
Recently Deb completed the installation of four 16' x 10' hand-painted tiles of her west coast abstract artworks as a large scale outdoor public art installation in North Vancouver in collaboration with Adera Developments (Vancouver) and Viuva Lamego (Portugal).
She has been named twice in the media as one of the top 10 contemporary artists to watch in Vancouver.
Her artwork is held in private collections world-wide and in corporate collection such as the Hilton Hotel, Bosa Developments, Crest Adera Developments and many others. Reproductions of her artwork sell to retails chains such as Target, Kirkland (Costco), and Nordstrom’s. Her work has been featured in Style At Home Magazine, The Georgia Strait, thrice on the homepage for Saatchi Online Gallery, in Rainmaker Films, on Telus TV, and in TV Commercials filmed in LA.
Her work is currently represented by D2Art and Sala Interiors in Los Angeles, USA and Van Dop Gallery in Vancouver, Canada.
Her favourite painting tool is a large palette knife. She considers a blank canvas to be one of the most seriously delicious and exciting things life has to offer. In her creative process is the embodiment of patience and persistence; hours, days and sometimes months of applying and taking away layers of mixed media - such as acrylic paints, sand, polymer mediums, oil sticks, pastels, collage, spray paint, and pencil crayon - on either heavy paper or canvas - a painting is formed. Her paintings are always imbued with lessons and wisdom, their names sometimes a clue to the learning and healing that transpired in their creation.
She is an admirer of the radiant abstract colour field abstract painting of Mark Rothko and Helen Frankenthauler.
Deb’s works have been described as: "Spiritual consciousness revealed in a physical form. She paints with a healing intention and creates large mixed media paintings with many layers of translucent colour, and infusions of light and earthy ephemera.” [Michelle Martin, The Georgia Strait]
Deb stands for each of us being the creator of our own lives, and that our dominion is within each of us. Through her multi-layered abstract artwork, she invites you pause, feel, and connect - and to journey inward, into your true authentic self.
"Deb Chaney made a lasting impression on me artistically and personally. Deb's Chaney's art exudes her positive and balanced soul with expressions of freedom melded with wisdom in her strokes. Her work is very visceral and accessible as you are drawn into her creative world. Many abstract expressionist try to achieve what she easily accomplishes naturally with her peaceful blend of colourism and impressionism employed in her abstraction. Chaney is a must see and meeting her is a true pleasure which in my mind is the majority of the experience of acquiring art as we often need to identify with the artist and the art. I look forward to her next show as she is realizing her full potential and I'm sure she has a deep well of creativity as she is a truly an inspiring artist a wonderful human being." - Rob Wall, Rob Wall Gallery, Bowen Island, BC, Canada
“When does God appear?” she says, reflecting on her series entitled When Physicality Meets Spirituality, a series that features abundant and magnificent skylines relative to small sliver of earth below. “For me, it’s a tangible experience. It’s something that can be felt – an ethereal lightness with a lot of energy. A post-religious spiritualist, Deb aspires to capture the essence of the universal consciousness – what she is referring to when she says “god” – through her art. She expresses this on canvas and paper, but channels it through meditation and yoga.” - Michelle Martin, Portrait of an Artist: Deb Chaney, Interview featured in The Georgia Straight [Read full article]
"From our first connection, I knew how serious Deb was about what she was doing with her life and how she was going to share it with the world. Her commitment to her career is evidence in the time she has dedicated to setting up her art business and learning about the art world. Even more refreshing, is Ms. Chaney's interaction with other artists. I have witnessed her not only as fearless about seeking advice from others, but generous in helping her colleagues. She is a true team player and makes a vital member of the artist community." - Alyson B Stanfield, Stanfield Art Associates
"Deb Chaney is one of the most passionate and dedicated artists I know. Her enthusiasm for her work is not only contagious but also inspirational. She actively follows through with her intentions more than most other artists I have worked with. She uses her assertiveness and ingenuity to go to every effort to make happen that which she sets out to complete. Her vision is courageous and innovative and is bound to bring beauty and thoughtfulness to any environment in which her work appears." - Jill Badonsky, Author and Creativity Coach
"Upon entering Deb’s studio, you are first struck by the number of materials she has at hand. She describes the workspace as ‘organized chaos’ but it is easy to feel like a child in a toy shop as you take in the shelves of gold leaf, gravel, enamel, glass beads, stencils and sand that she uses for collaging - a big part of her process. Deb is also a master of polymer mediums which she uses as varnishes to create oily or waxy effects on the surface of her paintings in the final stage of her work." - Harriet Goodwin, Kabuni Art Associates [Read full article]
"Deborah stands out above many competent and passionate students I have taught over the years. She has tremendous energy and passion to learn and express her inner being. She has the ability to attain great work. Her tenacity is unparalleled. when she says she will do something she follows through with tremendous fervor and accomplishes beyond the original task." - Lana L. Grow, AWS