Diana began painting at an early age; in fact, she can’t remember when she wasn’t an artist. A Business College graduate, she retired from dental office administration to pursue her love for art.Essentially self-taught in oil and acrylic for many years, she took a new approach, replacing brushes with palate knives in oils and added watercolor and pastel to her mediums.
Experimenting with soft pastels, she “fell in love” with the medium and became fascinated with creating works capturing the spectacular sky with its beauty of clouds that are ever-changing above us. Her paintings represent an attempt to capture a moment of inspiration and pass it on to the viewer with strikingly photorealistic cloud formations. She has an unconscious attraction to blue; therefore, most of her pieces display the sky and water and are set off by silhouetted foliage in the foreground to give the viewer a sense of vast space. Including figures to suggest a story from the scene is her most recent challenge, and this she feels is equal to creating the ever-shifting, captivating skyscape.
Needless to say, pastels has been the most expressive medium to work in, and she continues to explore new possibilities with them to enhance her art capabilities through workshops with well known instructors. A native of Vandergrift, PA, a small town east of Pittsburgh, she has resided in NC since 1982. With residences in Raleigh and Atlantic Beach, North Carolina’s never-ending coastline and beautiful ever-changing sky provides the artist with her favorite subjects to paint.
Recognized by many well-known jurors in local, regional, and national level exhibitions, Diana has been awarded place and purchase awards for many of her pieces, including a First and Third Place, and a Honorable Mention at the NC State Fair – Professional Arts Category for her pastels. With sixteen solo shows and two solo shows to her credits, she additionally completed two commissioned wall murals along with seminar and brochure illustrations. She was selected for the Best of State and National Artists and Artisans Juried Book Series 2005 by Kennedy Promotions receiving an Honorable Mention for one of her pastels. Diana instructs art each week through the Wake Technical Community College Adult Education Program.
A member of the Sertoma Park Artists Association, Fine Arts League of Cary, Watercolor Society of North Carolina, Pastel Society of North Carolina, Carteret County Arts & Crafts Coalitition, Visual Art Exchange, and the Cary Gallery of Artists, Diana’s work can be found at Nicole’sl Studio and Art Gallery, Raleigh, VAE-Exchange Gallery, Raleigh, Mattie King Davis Gallery, Beaufort, Carolina Artists Studio Gallery, Morehead City, and the Cary Gallery of Artists in Cary. She is in various scheduled art exhibits and festivals throughout North Carolina.
click on the thumbnail pictures below to see the full painting
