Diana

Coidan

Signature Member of the Pastel Society of America, Pastel Society of NC, and Southeastern Pastel Society, an award winning pastelist, Diana has been an accomplished and experienced full-time professional artist for over 30 years. Although she works in many mediums, working in soft pastels is her most expressive, offering the rich color, variety, and immediacy to paint award-winning pastels. A Business College graduate, she retired from an administrative position to pursue her love for art. Self-taught and after many workshops with well-known instructors, she discovered her own pathway to expression in pastels and developed her own signature style with strikingly realistic results. International, National, Statewide, Regional, and Local level exhibitions, Diana has been awarded place and purchase awards for many of her pastels. Her work can be found in private and corporate permanent art collections in the Raleigh area, including Duke Health Raleigh Hospital and Wells Fargo Corporate Offices permanent art collection. With over 40+ solo and numerous group shows to her credits, she additionally has completed four commissioned wall murals along with seminar and brochure illustrations. As a Signature Member of Pastel Society of America, Pastel Society of NC, and Southeastern Pastel Society, an Associate Member of the Women Painters of Southeast, Fine Arts League of Cary, Appalachian Pastel Society, Southeastern Pastel Society, and the Founding Member of the Cary Gallery of Artists, Diana's work can be found at the Cary Gallery of Artists, Cary and Mattie King Davis Gallery, Beaufort,

Drawing and painting at an early age, I can't remember when I wasn't an artist. Self-taught in oil and acrylic for many years, I took a new approach, replacing brushes with palate knives in oil and added watercolor and pastel to my art mediums. Experimenting with pastels, and after several workshops, I fell in love with this medium and became fascinated with creating works capturing the spectacular sky, sea, and boats. My paintings represent an attempt to capture a moment of inspiration and pass it on to the viewer. I paint my subjects in my home-studio, but they begin either on location with a brief sketch or from referenced photos. I may use any combination of these referenced materials to pull the scene back into my memory. Photos are very important as they help me retain a sense of light and feeling of the scene. I create my pastels on Uart Premium Pastel paper using a variety of soft pastels such as Terry Ludwig and Schmeinke.

Acrylic, Pastels/Oil Pastels, Oil / Alkyd

www.dianacoidan.com