Lily Oceana (b. 2000) is a figurative painter based in East Vancouver working primarily in oil and acrylic. Her practice explores the relationship between her memory and her imagination. Familiar people and places are re-interpreted through an emotional lens, rather than a literal one. Environments and subjects in her paintings often depart from realism, finding home in an expressive cartoon-like style where images distort and transform. Lily approaches painting as storytelling, where her familiar yet uncanny forms tell of long forgotten memories that have been filtered, reshaped and reimagined. Her work is humorous, optimistic, and playful, presenting “life as it could be” rather than how it objectively appears.
Alongside her studio practice, Lily has developed an active mural practice, completing private and public commissions since 2021, translating her painting language into large-scale works. Her work has been shown in Vancouver through galleries and studio exhibitions. Lily studied painting at Emily Carr University of Art and Design and continues to develop her practice through both studio and public art projects.
