As a child, Dianna Shyne was always doodling, drawing, painting, rummaging around for just one more piece of paper or creating space ships out of cardboard boxes and old car parts in the garage. Her projects always seemed to spill out of the garage into the rest of the house.
As an adult, Dianna kept on creating, this time focusing on drawing and painting. She has spent the past 25 years painting in watercolor, oil and acrylic. Her teachers trained her in the disciplined art of Russian Impressionism, which she pursued with passion.
Her paintings have been in numerous national and international shows. She has received over a dozen National awards, including the Grumbacher Gold Medallion, and first place in the NWWS Open National exhibition. Her works are included in private and corporate collections in Japan, Western Europe, and throughout Canada and the USA
In 2000, health issues with oil paint caused Dianna to switch mediums to acrylic. It was a change she has never regretted. Since that year, she has had over 15 solo exhibitions. been published in The Artist's Magazine and Watercolor Magic, jurored many regional shows, and given dozens of public demonstrations. She has taught workshops locally and in places as remote as Arviat in Nunuvut Territories. She has even given demonstrations in WuHan China.
Dianna's love of nature and landscape painting were perfect for her participation in an artist-research project in the Northwest rainforest, sponsored by National geographic. The artists were taught to climb trees, and painted in platforms high above the ground.
Dianna served as president of the Northwest Watercolor Society in 2001, and is currently a signature member of that organization. In 2003 Daniel Smith Art Materials produced a Dianna Shyne Acrylics Set. The artist currently lives in Seattle, Washington and works in a studio she built in 2003.
Artist's Statement: I paint whatever subject compels me at the moment ... whatever is infused with beauty, mystery or drama ... whatever is calling to me. The love of painting draws me to portraiture and figurative painting, when tiny nuances in gesture or expression draw from the memory and emotion of the viewer. The love of painting takes me to the still life, to capture the silent flow of lavender, cloudy-day light falling from an open window, or to the landscape, where the combination of land forms, water and cloud create endless compositions. The love of painting takes me to more interior landscapes where abstract feelings come to life on canvas or paper. I love everything about painting ... the weight and feel of the brush in my hand, that initial squeeze from a new tube of paint, the first stroke on a fresh canvas, the moment when I lock into that timeless place of absorption, or that one perfect elusive stroke. Painting is a delight, a meditation and practice in present moment awareness. It is also an opportunity for me to communicate my love of life with others. |
