Diane in her light-filled studio, overlooking her homemade stream.
Diane is a representational watercolor painter who fell in love with art at the early age of 4 years old. She was amazed to see how just a drawing on a sheet of paper could translate into three dimensional realistic-looking objects, people and landscapes.
Diane’s watercolor painting have been internationally recognized for her unique subject matter, fly fishing. Being an avid angler herself, she knows her subject intimately, allowing her to paint all aspects of the sport. Diane says knowing how to paint fly fishing has enabled her to paint a variety of representational artworks like portraits, still life, and landscapes.
Recently, Diane’s style has evolved to focus on shapes and forms instead of reproducing exactly what is in front of her. This has been a challenge for Diane, stepping out of her security and comfort, but she has also found it very rewarding. Diane has also painted other subjects more accepted in galleries where fly fishing fine art is not well known.
What influences Diane in her art is the aspect of how each artist views his/her world and interprets it. She has many artists whose work gives her inspiration, but has named Joseph Zbukvic and Stan Miller as the top two.
For young and emerging artists, Diane encourages them to “start young if possible, learn to observe, and be a sponge. Work to better yourself and most of all create unique pieces of work.”
As a watercolor painter, Diane doesn’t need a lot of space. Her cozy studio overlooks her homemade stream and has three windows which offer excellent lighting. She has her music, her freedom, and she feels “free as a bird”!
Diane feels the art world has drastically changed the last 5 years, with social media allowing accessibility to view art, to learn from YouTube, and to enable more students to attend shows “just to be captivated. The competition is severe and galleries, painters, and exhibited art shows are seeing a huge slide compared to what it used to be.”
Diane has given us a couple of her quotes to inspire us as artists:
“The more we share inspiring views, the more we become one.”
“As a teacher, you are not the star, but your students are the sky.”
If you would like to see more of Diane’s art, please visit her website: http://www.dianemichelin.com. To contact her, email dianepaints@gmail.com
Arrowsmith FCA 