Hello dear reader! We want to introduce you to an amazing local artist here in Atlanta. Her name is Dana and she is a queer sign painter, muralist and lover of letters.
Born and raised in Decatur, GA, Dana now lives in Atlanta with her girlfriend Kate along with their two cats Milk & Mozzy, and their dog Carol. Her job is painting logos for restaurants and retail stores, and in her down time she enjoys reading, memory journaling, going to estate sales and bowling on her league team.
You may have seen her work if you’ve strolled along the BeltLine at Krog Tunnel, gone to Smith’s Old Bar, placed an order at Butter & Cream or shopped at Finders Keepers Consignment.
Beginnings
We asked Dana how she got started, how she knew she wanted to be an artist for a living.
“I don’t really remember the moment when I realized I wanted to be an artist, it was more like a slow trickle. I’ve always loved lettering and it just sort of snowballed into a career. As a kid I wanted to be a writer, and in a way, I am. I write on buildings now! I do remember the moment I decided to quit my serving job and do art full-time. It was six years ago and I was fed up with my job. I put in my two weeks and never looked back! Impulsive, but necessary. Im glad I did it.”
Her Influences
Dana says that the late Margaret Kilgallen is a huge influence for her. Like Dana, Margaret was a letter lover. She says “She painted these bizarre, folksy pieces in a very specific colour pallette that have tons of really interesting letterforms. ” Unfortunately, Margaret passed in her 30’s from breast cancer in the early 2000’s. “I would’ve loved to see where she’d be at now if she were alive today.” Dana mused.
She is also greatly inspired by Steve “ESPO” Powers. She says he is also a huge “lettering nerd” who was friends with Kilgallen. “His work is inspired by graffiti and is very bright and graphic. They were both part of the Mission School movement. There’s a really great documentary about this work called “Beautiful Losers” that I’ve seen so many times” (we added a link for the documentary on YouTube if you want to check it out!)
Style & Grace
When asked how her style has evolved over the years, Dana expressed “Well, it’s certainly gotten cleaner. I think having access to better materials–whether they are tools for painting or actual reference materials–has certainly given a sharper, crisper element to my work. I think over the years it’s also become less raw. I used to write these deeply personal mini poems I’d share with the world, and as I’ve aged, I don’t do that as often. id rather my work be more neutral, so that the viewer can glean what they want from it.”
That being said, how does she describe her style? Art Nouveau and Art Deco inspired. She loves a really dramatic letterform and likes to push the envelope with how far something can go before it stops being recognizable as a letter. Her favorite medium is latex paint on a rough wall, and she finds inspiration everywhere. When asked what elements she likes to include in her work, she replied “a couplet, a musing, rhyming, wordplay, high crossbars, thick letters, bright colors and muted colors”. Not only is she a painter, she is indeed a writer as well.
What the Future Holds
As Dana looks to the future and what she want to achieve, she says she hasn’t shown a lot of her work around town and she’d like the remainder of this year and next year to reflect her effort to show off work places. So often, she is painting other peoples logos or a design they’ve chosen that it doesn’t leave her much time to create work of her own. However, she says “that is going to change—watch out world!”
She often works with other muralists on projects and loves working with her art friends. She’s done a few collaborative murals where they get to play off each others work in the moment, finding a free wall to paint. This is something she would love to be hired to do–while also having full artistic license to paint what she wants. Another dream job for Dana, would to be hired by an elementary or nursery school that would want a bunch of alphabets painted. Given complete creative control, she would paint fun and weird letter styles on the walls.
Public Murals
In 2021, Dana worked with Forward, Warrior!! an annual arts event in Atlanta, made possible by the Cabbagetown Initiative. It is an invitational, curated selection of dynamic and compelling artists from across the region. Two years later, she says she is still really proud of the piece she did there. It was a very personal, raw piece and she says she’d like to more work like that.
What does Dana hope to achieve with her art? “I hope my work makes people smile, cry and think. I hope my weird little poems resonate with people and stay with them through their day.”
Closing Thoughts
Thank you Dana for making our community more beautiful with your art, and for letting us tell everyone your story! If you’d like to see more of Dana’s work (and you really should!) you can find her at dearalphabet.com TikTok and Instagram
These pieces are currently for sale! You can contact Dana for more information or to inquire about murals or sign commissions
Some of our goals at SpiderRain are creating community and bringing awareness about independent artists, in addition to other things. We want to see people like this have an environment where they can thrive, and by telling you about them, and the work they do, they can get better visibility and in turn, more opportunities to sell their works. To learn about other artists and makers, we post their stories here.
So we leave it to you, dear reader to share the links to these stories with your friends and help these amazing people make the world a more beautiful place. Wouldn’t you just love to know that you are part of positive change? If we all work together, we can make it happen!
Love, SpiderRain
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