Dana Lieberman has spent the past three years working in abstract art. Layered, texture-heavy paintings made from acrylic, charcoal, plaster and found materials. She’s also a yoga and meditation instructor, practices that shape how Lieberman works, leaning into feeling as much as technique.
Before that, she spent years painting commissioned pet portraits in oil, and before that, she earned a photography degree, studied art abroad and put art aside altogether to raise a family in Atlanta.
Her return to art started with a few online courses, some kitchen-table sketching then selling pieces at a holiday art show or two. She never imagined those moments would culminate in a call that changed the reach of her work considerably.
Vicki Kennedy, wife of Max Kennedy, has known Lieberman’s brother for years. Through him, she found Lieberman’s work online and called the next day. She had wall space to fill in the Kennedy family’s historic Hyannis Port home, and a specific ask: something that would bring “the natural beauty of Cape Cod indoors” as part of the home’s broader refresh. “We love the idea of supporting an emerging artist,” Kennedy wrote to Lieberman, “and having something created specifically for the house.”
Lieberman said yes without hesitation — of course. We talked to her about the process.
What was it like when you first learned you’d be creating a piece for the Kennedy family?
I was excited because I really enjoy doing commissions for people … it’s kind of an honor and a privilege really to do something for someone that they are going to be looking at all the time … I was on cloud nine. I was incredibly excited, but also nervous. It felt like such a meaningful opportunity, and I really wanted to get it right.
You were asked to bring “the natural beauty of Cape Cod indoors.” What did that look like for you, creatively?
I knew I didn’t want to create a traditional coastal landscape … Instead, I really wanted the painting to sort of carry the feeling of Cape Cod … I just kept thinking of sort of the muted coastal palette, like kind of the soft blues and grays of the water and the sky, and sand provides this gorgeous sort of neutral, and everything feels weathered … I had sort of the house in mind and the view of the beach throughout the entire process. So I really wanted the painting to feel as though it belonged there, while also connecting to what was happening outside.
How did that translate onto the canvas?
That looked like starting with layers … loose, watery layers, and building up, and as those layers are coming, are being developed as things come up with the layers, and as I maybe pull away some of the layers, I am just so into what is revealed — the sort of unknown or the overlooked. And I love to bring light to that very thing. I’m just continuing to build layers and taking away layers with my big old water bottle, and then just utilizing the different tools that I have.
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How much back-and-forth was there with Vicki Kennedy during the process?
She sent me the layout from [design firm] Serena and Lily, which included the pieces they were going to be using in each room and then she sent me pictures of the room where she felt like it would end up. We talked once, I think, and the rest was texting. She talked to me about the house and what it represents to her, and what it has represented over the years … how the piece would be seen as she continued the sort of tradition of hosting family and friends and events there.
