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Whether it is the sight
of a family building snowmen during the Christmas season, a boy carrying
a pair of lambs, or a small
girl admiring a flight of butterflies, the joy found in artist Diane Graebner's
paintings is contagious. A tiny flame is kindled deep inside the soul,
sparked by the familiarity found in the views of everyday life her images
portray and before you know it, the smile on your face is as bright and
warm as a ray of summer sunshine.
Graebner is best known for
prints which depict the lifestyle of the Amish people where Diane lives
in Ohio. "As you drive around the Ohio countryside, everywhere you look
you see families working together. The children may be picking strawberries
or tending the animals while the adults are busy with more difficult tasks.
They cause me to recall many special moments in my own family relationships,
and these memories are the inspiration for my paintings."
Diane respects the Amish
and their wishes, and therefore does not paint their facial features. The
Amish belief is that one is to be humble, and not arrogant. Having a likeness
of ones self is not being humble in the eyes of God.
For
Graebner, inspiration seems to be everywhere. She is especially aware vvhen
watching children. "I try to see my envionment through the eyes of a child.
For this reason, my subjects are not limited to the Amish. What I am seeking
to convey is the innocence and wonder that is associated with
childhood. It is the idea of everything being new, fresh and exciting,
as if you were seeing it for the first time."
GALLERY REPRESENTATION
Represented in galleries
throughout the United States. Among them are Gallery One in Mentor,
Ohio, Galarina Arts in Shipshewana, Indiana, and Berlin Creek Gallery in
Berlin, Ohio.....and more.
ART SHOW
INVITATIONS
Gallery One Miniature Show
Wild Wings Miniature Show
Arts for the Parks National
Show
Western National Parks association---private
invitational exhibition.
MAGAZINE
ARTICLES
Have been featured in and
on the front cover of many arts magazines. INFORMART, COLLECTORS
NEWS, COLLECTORS EDITIONS, U.S. ART, and others
COLLECTIONS
Her paintings are in public
and private collections throughout the United States, and Canada.
Among them are the Old Phoenix National banks in Ohio, and the Ohio State
Teachers retirement building in Columbus, Ohio.
AWARDS AND
CITATIONS
St.George, Utah, first place
in their Watercolor Society Show, 2005
Voted one of the top 10
Americana Artists in the United States in 1989 by Collectors Mart Magazine
Cited as emerging new U.S.
artist by Virginian Magazine in 1989
Arts for the Parks National
Competition, chosen in the top 200
DESIGNER
Has designed over 160 cross
stitch designs which are sold world-wide
TEACHER
Taught high school
art for 16 years, Visual arts at Tuacahn High School for the performing
arts in St.George, Utah, arts at Dixie State College in St.George, and
now teaches at many adult venues throughout the United States
SCHOOLING
A graduate of Kent
State University, Kent, Ohio, and Idraetshojskolen, in Sonderborg, Denmark
Excerpts of this biography
come from the writing of Myrna Zanetell in the Spring 1999 issue of INFORMART
magazine.
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