Bio

 

Since a very early age I have been exposed to art in many forms and shapes. I grew up in Estonia in the last days of the Soviet Union. I was first introduced to art through my father. I loved watching my father draw. He taught me the basics of watercolor. He took me to see museums in  Estonia, Russia, Armenia, and he gave me his large set of art books printed in Russian and Armenian. So when the choice for a field of studies presented itself and I had to ask myself what I would like to learn, the choice was easy. The Academy of Art University offered the opportunity to explore different subject matter from traditional landscape paintings and still-life to portraiture. Experimenting with different media was a major part of my experience at the Academy. I have been taught clay sculpture, charcoal in figure drawing, acrylics, in mixed media work, and in oil and watercolor painting. My work reflects this variety of exposure and I intend to continue on the same path experimenting with different things.

 

Statement

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Diana’s work is a process of discovery. Each painting consists of many layers of different materials and mediums. Sometimes Diana combines mediums that traditionally shouldn’t go together. Diana often uses encaustic to fuse the layers together to achieve a deep complex surface. She loves the ability to create a veiled, dreamy look. Wax allows for layers to recede or even hide. This medium doesn't allow her to become too precise or realistic. Layering, obscuring, and revealing are integral components of her work.

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Diana finds beauty in the most mundane and small objects of nature, like the Queen Anne's Lace that grows freely on the side of the roads all over Sonoma and Marin and like the bright leaves on the branches of fallen oak trees in Petaluma. Each of her paintings is a discovery of the intimacies of nature rather than the majesty of Yosemite Valley or awesome vistas of the coast.  The artist allows the observer to take pause and allow grandeur of nature to be discovered as it manifests itself in the nearby and familiar.