All images displayed on this site, copyright © Diana Persson 2011
This site is created, owned and maintained by the artist.
Self Portrait, Watercolour,
2010.
Diana Persson
Watercolour Artist
Diana Persson
Canadian Watercolour Artist
Watercolour painting has been a long-time dream for Diana, but since March 2009 it is a joyful passion and compulsion. “I paint mainly in watercolour because I especially love the unpredictability and the challenge of the medium. I am very happy that my art absorbs and obsesses me at times”
She completed her nurse’s training in South Africa in 1990 after which she enjoyed her role as homemaker, mother of two and partner to her husband, Ockie. Since childhood Diana’s interest has always inclined to the creative arts and after moving to Morden, Manitoba, and some years of secretarial work, she began focussing on her painting.
Diana is self-directed and is a relative novice to watercolours. She attributes much of her painting knowledge to good art books, browsing the net and a keen sense of observation. Her subjects are varied but tie together with her realistic style and characteristic detail and softness. “My paintings are usually a celebration of a beautiful moment!”
Artist's Statement “Painting is an emotional response to the world around me. It is an exclamation that I have seen something that moved me: light cast in an extraordinary way, amazing colours in unexpected places, or intriguing details that are often missed in a fast, busy world. It is my attempt to celebrate and share a beautiful moment in time.The process of painting, beginning with image creation, is my response to my analytical nature. I enjoy the exploration of a subject; of taking it apart, studying the form and essence of it, and then putting it together again in an attempt to recreate the beauty of it and preserve that moment of inspiration. The medium of watercolours is particularly challenging and therefore most gratifying. I love it for its fluidity and unpredictability. It forces me to tap deep into my problem solving reserves and pushes the boundaries of what I know and am able to do. It makes painting a strange blend of stress and relaxation all bundled into one, and it makes me happy. It is my way of saying that something was worth the effort!”
FEATURES:
- Introduction feature in “Watercolour Gazette”, Spring 2009 Issue pg 17, Kor Publications, Winnipeg.
MEMBERSHIPS:
- Active Member of the Federation of Canadian Artists
- Member of the Manitoba Society of Artists
- Member of the Assiniboia Group of Artists Cooperative
- Member of the Pembina Hills Arts Center
EXHIBITIONS:
- The Central Region Juried Art Exhibit, Manitoba, 2011
(People's Choice Award Winner)
- Red River Expo, Winnipeg, June 2010
- Altona's Gallery In The Park, "Up Close / At a Distance", Summer 2010
- MSA's 78th Annual Juried Show in Winnipeg, 2010.
(Two 'Honorable Mention' Awards)
- Posers 1st Annual People's Choice Exhibition, November 2009 (People's Choice Award Winner)
- "Journey in Watercoulour - From the Beginning", Morden, 2009
- Manitoba touring exhibit of selected works from the Central Region Juried Art Exhibit 2009 and 2010 including Portage la Prairie, Winnipeg, Holland, Morden and Carman.
- The Central Region Juried Art Exhibit, Manitoba, 2009 and 2010 (People’s Choice Award winner, 2009).
- “Awakening” Art Exhibition in Winkler, MB. 2009.
Personal Note
"My website is essentially to share my watercolour journey with you. No, I have not been painting for a long time; I'm in my 40's and have never been to art school, but the journey started in childhood. Each past experience has shaped and formed me and contributes to my present knowledge. One doesn't just "start painting"! I am grateful for each of the countless creative projects I dabbled in throughout my life, teaching me form and proportion, developing an eye for detail and how to use my hands as a vehicle for transferring an idea from my mind to the medium of choice. Each 'hobby' was approached with intense passion, and yielded reasonable results and satisfaction before I jumped to the next creative medium. Watercolours always intrigued me, but mostly intimidated me because I couldn't get it 'right' the first time. It would return to the back seat and the things with guaranteed success won my attention and action. Maybe I wasn't ready for it then.
So life went. My energy was joyfully shared with these hobbies and raising my children and making a home that they would want to come back to. For years motherhood defined me and fulfilled me and perhaps in some way it was preparing me to start painting. What has this got to do with watercolors? Well, I see so many similarities with raising children and watercolour painting! Both require patience and tenacity and a lot of attention. Both are commenced with absolutely no idea of what I'm going to do next, and I learn as I go along. The method for each is a series of immediate problem solving and sometimes crisis intervention, which is often instinctive. Both keep you up at night. Both are unpredictable: they sometimes behave badly and also often surprise you. No two behave in the same way. Both talk back to you. Both look best with a series of many washes. Neither will make you rich but both make you proud. Both end up in a frame on the wall above the piano, and lastly, they will always be my babies!
I love the intensity and the passion painting demands. Watercolour painting forces me to tap deep into my problem solving reserves and pushes the boundaries of what I know and am able to do! I am very happy that my art absorbs and obsesses me at times.
Other parts of my world will also appear in these pages, since clearly, my life and my art intertwine so that they are indistinguishable and quite inseparable. With my two children in university now I have gained two things: the luxury of time, and a lifetime of contributing knowledge. That, together with my new friends Windsor & Newton and a fresh stack of crisp Arches paper, makes me look forward to the next step of this journey!
