ABOUT THE ARTIST
Diana Holcombe is a skilled artist in both colored pencil and painting, including acrylics & oils. She specializes in portraits, of both people and animals as well as landscapes. Her sensitive colored pencil animal portraits have a tremendous lifelike quality that truly captures the "spirit" of each animal. This is most likely due to Diana's unique working method:
"I start by painting the eyes first. This helps me capture the personality of the subject. Then the rest of the painting falls into place."
Diana has had many commissions for her animal/pet portraits, which always become a treasured possession or even a beautiful memory of a beloved pet. Diana's ability to create such loving animal portraits stems from her own love of animals. Diana volunteers as a dog trainer for local search and rescue operations. She spends much of her time, when not painting, training her own 2 dogs, Cocoa and Bailey, in search and rescue techniques and working with other dog owners in training missions. Diana is very dedicated to this rewarding service work.
Diana is also a very dedicated and involved member of her local church, The Lord's House, where she teaches junior church to the young people of the congregation. She is a very creative teacher, delighting her students with fun lessons and creative projects that excite their imagination while also encouraging their relationships with the Lord. Diana's involvment with her church plays a very important role in her life. Whenever she paints she listens to Gospel music to help her feel creative and at peace and she states,
"The Lord has given me a great gift and I love to share it with others through my painting."
Diana holds a degree in Applied Science (Building Preservation Restoration with an emphasis in Stained Glass and Faux Finishes) and has studied under many successful artists including:
* Kristy Kutch; well known artist & author
* Jennifer Kosarkos; award-winning colored pencil artist
* Joy Wilson; California oil portraitist
* Jerry Yarnell; renowned artist & author
Diana has received many awards, recognitions and honors for her artwork. She has been named "Best Woman Artist in Oils and Acrylic" and has had several awards for her work in colored pencil.
Diana currently lives in Smithfield, Ohio with her husband David of 31 years, her 2 dogs and 4 cats. She works at
The Center of Music and Art in Wintersville, Ohio where she has been employed as an art instructor in tole painting and children's art and currently works in administration.
