Diana Camille - The chess set she won should have been her first clue. The coloring contest at the local market was for all ages and, at the young age of seven she placed first - she still has that chess set to this day. Her second clue should have been high school art class. It was her favorite where she excelled in drawing, and she was the one student hired out to assist on local business ads. The art thing was always in the back of her mind but she continued to ignore it. Fast forward a couple decades; her children nearly grown and she finally picked up a paintbrush.....

Starting out with murals (every room in the house had tromp l'oeil on at least one wall); she decided to follow her calling. After enrolling in a watercolor class she became hooked on this medium. That first splash of color forever changed her perspective of the world. She proceeded to take over the dining room table and every other flat surface in her home. It got to the point where her children no longer asked "What's for dinner".....instead they asked "Is there going to be any dinner?" When her dream studio was completed, instructing classes began; requests for commissions increased; and awards followed in every competition. Diana considers herself to be self-taught, and is a voracious reader who has found books to be the best teachers, recently adding acrylics to her repertoire.

A lifelong resident of the Pacific NW, she, her husband, and their dog are currently in the process of transplanting from Oregon to Union, WA.....working out of two studios currently. Her art is developed through a multitude of glazes meticulously applied, her compositions often portraying serendipitous moments expressed in great detail with her painterly realism style. Always on a quest to reach the viewer by evoking a familiar feeling, her work invites you to linger. Whether painting animals or people, she always paints the eyes first; "You have to have connection with the eyes or the whole piece will never work".

Why does she paint? "Quite simply, it's a means to communicate feelings," says this artist. "I just have something to say and since I see the world in colors and shapes, it's conveyed often through my work ~ as I see it ~ in my detailed, yet sometimes abstract work. I often vary my style, depending on my mood to govern how I am going to paint each day, refusing to be pigeon holed into just one style.....it would stifle my creativity if I had to do that".

Diana has taught in numerous venues, both children and adult classes, and is currently on sabbatical from teaching as she has recently illustrated two children's books and is currently working on her third. Her advice for anyone who has put off a dream? "If you really want to do something, you'll figure it out - you will not put some other priority first". Though a seemingly simple philosophy, it's what finally worked for her. Chess anyone?

Diana has illustrated two books with Goops Unlimited. A Treasury of Goops was her first project where she tackled a collection of Burgess' most popular material. Her most recent work is The Goops Circus, a collection of new material from the Burgess archives that has never before been published.

The Goops Circus Hardcover: 64 pages ISBN: 0971236844 $19.95 w/CD A Treasury of Goops Timeless Manners for Every Generation ISBN: 0971236852 $19.95