Diana Durham Fine Art- Artist Biography
Artist Biography
I developed a passion for art early on. In my family, my dad was the artist- as opposed to my mom, who could only draw stick figures. However, in my family, art was only a way to have fun, and it was not taken seriously, nor did my dad try to market his incredible talent. And naturally, I was not encouraged to pursue art, but rather told to pursue a more "practical" career- which I tried to for as long as I could.
In first grade, I noticed my dad drawing some ballerinas, and I became really interested in figuring out how to draw beautiful ballerinas. So, I started doodling a lot, even during my school hours and my tests.
As a young child, one of my favorite past times was drawing portraits and beautiful women by looking at the postcards of celebrities from my parents' collection. Later on, I began to draw my class mates' portraits.
Over the years, I continued to draw and paint in my spare time, secretly wishing I could get more involved in art. But being involved full-time in my work as the owner of an after-school program and later as a web and graphic designer left me with little time for traditional art. However, I never lost interest in it and the passion was always the same. Whenever I had the chance, I would draw in my spare time.
So, after admiring other artists and collecting their art for years, and thanks to some of my friends' encouragement and support, I have made the decision to get involved in art for the rest of my life.
I love pin up art, figurative art, and fantasy art- so these subjects will be my main focus.
I am currently experimenting with different mediums, papers, boards, and techniques.
I am using acrylics, watercolors, colored pencils, and pastels.
My favorite artist was Leonardo Da Vinci, but I admire many of the classic and contemporary pin up and fantasy artists, such as Franzetta, Vargas, Olivia, Vallejo.
I like different types of art, but the realistic and illustration style are first on my list, probably due to early influences of being exposed to Renaissance and classic art and from my early college days when I took fashion illustration courses.
In my paintings, I want to capture a special moment in a woman's life when she feels most beautiful inside and out- a moment of happiness that touched me and that I want to create, preserve and share with others.
