Diane's work depicts nature as a metaphor for the transitory quality of life. Using acrylic paint, rust, Sumi ink, vintage newspapers, and mixed media, her surfaces flow like water while playing with light, shadow, and depth. Using abstraction as her method, the paintings have elements of flowers, rocks, water, and sky that are recognizable while drawing parallels between what is concrete and illusive. Erasures remind us that nothing is permanent, yet everything leaves an impression. Multiple layers of paint add motion as the paintings drift between realism and abstraction; the present and memory. In her own words, Diane describes her work as a portal: “I hope my work is a vehicle for the observer to enter uncharted territory. I have dreamed of portals and usually enter through the water or behind a rock. Once inside, everything familiar takes on a new and vital quality. It takes a bit of courage to enter the unknown, and perhaps that is why many people avoid abstraction. I find that a flower or another recognizable object often helps the viewer to delve deeper into the abstract nature of both the paint and the human psyche. I use repetitions like memories that drift in and out of the work and reflections like mirrors to ones soul. Multiple layers of paint are like a symphony inviting the viewer to experience the subtleties of each part coming together to create the whole.” Diane received an MFA in Arts and Consciousness from John F. Kennedy University in Berkeley, CA. She traveled to China to learn calligraphy and traditional landscape painting, and also lived in Jamaica for a decade among the rhythms of reggae music and the colors of the Caribbean. Her work is in collections from California to Israel. She maintains a studio in Benicia, CA, and a mountain retreat in the Sierras.