– About Diane –

In kindergarten, Diane was asked what she wanted to be when she grew up. “An artist, and to learn about God.” These have remained the guiding forces in her life.

Currently a Hawai’i resident, Diane grew up in Colorado. Her art and craft classes nurtured her artistic love. During the summer, she studied oil painting in Mexico at her aunt and uncle’s apartment which overflowed with art collections. They were art patrons who supported her entering the world of art. Her loving parents also championed her talents.

Diane pursued art at Colorado State University, received a B.A. in Art and Anthropology at the University of Colorado, and an Associate Degree in Advertising Design at the Art Institute of Colorado. While in college she studied art in the Tuscany Hills near Florence, Italy and traveled through Europe, visiting cathedrals, museums, and the landscape. Later she traveled to India, enjoying the art, architecture, religion, and culture.

In addition to creating art, she has worked in graphic design in advertising, as a yoga instructor, an elementary school teacher, and an activity director for seniors in assisted living and nursing homes.

In 1990, Diane moved from Colorado to Hawai’i, an island paradise of oceans, volcanoes, native and tropical flora and fauna. Moving to Hawai’i had a profound influence on her life, spiritually and artistically. After meditating for many years, painting in this environment seemed a perfect balance. Meditation helped her with the focus and intuition needed to develop her style of painting. She was inspired by the outward manifestation of God’s beauty. A special blessing was received to pursue the artist’s path. All the doors started opening. Galleries began to represent her work.

The Holualoa art community nurtured her love of painting. Her first watercolor class with living treasure Hiroki Morinoue, the co-founder of Donkey Mill Art Center, caused her to be enamored with the medium. Taking wonderful workshops with renowned watercolorists at the Hawai’i Watercolor Society, raised the bar, as she poured herself into this medium with passion. She eventually gained her HWS Signature Membership. Diane painted the abundant tropical beauty, visited island sites, camera in hand, to capture the essence for future paintings. She also participated in the Big Island plein air group.

Her technique focuses on vibrant colors, bold compositions, subtle effects of light and shadow, and the use of transparent layers in watercolor. She finds tremendous joy and upliftment in this work and hopes to convey that in her paintings.

The renowned watercolor artist, Paul Jackson influenced her in his watercolor workshops – adding the story to her paintings, improving technically, and fostering her love of capturing portraits. Painting people has been a natural outgrowth of her style – challenging, but extremely rewarding. Her love for friends and family now has an outlet, whether they are performing music, dancing, or simply reflecting the joy of life. When she needs a break from the intensity necessary for portrait painting, she returns to florals and other subjects, using the knowledge she has gained from her experience to give them new meaning.

All of Diane’s paintings have a deeper meaning as well – her love for the Divine. They are meant to be an offering back to God as an expression of her appreciation for her artistic gift. “Sometimes I will include in my paintings a spiritual representation symbolized in nature, such as an ocean symbolizing the eternal, or candlelight for meditation, Quan Yin for compassion, butterflies for transformation, flowers for devotional offerings, and the lotus for enlightenment. I have painted Mother Mary and forms of the Divine Mother. As my spirituality has grown, so has my art, and it reflects my love for God.”