About
My name is Ashley Mooney. I grew up in the Greater Toronto area in Ontario; always surrounded by the rush and commotion that comes with living in a big city. To clear my head and get away from the city lights, I often spend time alone exploring different landscapes. I always manage to find peace in nature and wildlife, I think that is my biggest inspiration in regards to my artwork.
I’ve always been surrounded by many great artists but I’d have to say my biggest inspiration is my nana. She was a great artist and really inspired me to get into oil painting. She was famous for her landscape pictures, and I hope to be as good as her one day and make her proud. I even keep her favourite green tiny paintbrush and think of her each time I do detailing.times use the oil over acrylic method.
As I mentioned above, the medium I prefer to paint with is oil paint. I play with many different oils such as, Safflower, Poppy Seed, Walnut, Liquin, Linseed Stand Oil, Glazing mediums. For Larger pieces I sometimes use the oil over acrylic method.
I have also lead many “Sip and Paint” lessons at pubs and restaurants in the GTA. Below are some pictures with my students! A goal of mine is to display a painting collection in Montreal, it is definitely a beautiful and artsy city.
Some of my professional achievements include, displaying my art in multiple galleries including Erin, Brampton and Burlington Ontario. Including Staving Artists Gallery.
Education
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As for my education in art, I studied art for 4 years at St. Thomas Aquinas High school and was mentored by Mr. McKeigan. It was a pleasure learning from such a free spirited person, he really brought out my creative side and a lot of my “surrealism work” was inspired by him. The most important thing I learned in art class is you need to know when to stop painting (that’s the hardest part). My dream would be to take portrait lessons in the future and really focus on the art of the portrait.
Currently I am working on 2 significant projects. The first piece is a wood burning and has been in the works for about 6 months. The piece was inspired by my little brother Justin, he told me everything about Greek mythology one night before bed and it got me interested. As I drew he helped me place the characters on the wood (what they should be holding/doing and who they should be interacting with). The whole piece is about 5 feet by 3 feet. The second unique piece I am painting is from a dream I endured. I dreamed of a mermaid finding all the treasure in the world on the sea floor and an octopus coming and capturing her. I decided to cut a wooden panel into a circle with a homemade jig, the circular board has a 30 inch diameter. To give some in site I can post some sneak peaks of my work (sketches and process pictures).
