Diane Liguori

I was drawn to people and their idiosyncrasies as soon as I could motor my chubby little toddler legs to meet them. This fascination bloomed to encompass a love of nature and the outdoors, and a thirst for painting in both words and pictures.

Bio

I am a William & Mary graduate, a former advertising executive, and a public biotech Chief of Staff who gifted myself with a hard-earned new creative career as both artist and writer. I have an MFA from San Francisco-based Academy of Art University, and two ideally situated studios: one in the heart of the Alexander Valley in Geyserville, California; the other nestled in the quiet trees atop Museum Hill in Santa Fe, New Mexico. My work has been shown and sold in private galleries as well as juried regional, national and international exhibitions. I am an Associate with Distinction Member of American Women Artists, a juried Artist Member of the California Art Club, and a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. I am a juried featured artist member of two international fine arts organizations: Fusion Art, based in Santa Fe, NM, and the Circle Foundation for the Arts, based in Athens, Greece.

Artist’s Statement

I am an expressive, contemporary realist who is compelled to capture the downright marvelous real, flaws and all. I work in a variety of media, with a primary focus on oil painting with richness, depth, color and detail. I am consistently drawn to the haunting beauty of transitions, and the strength in vulnerability. I believe all things have an inherent beauty exactly as created—and that it is up to us to find it. It is especially delightful when my work lets others connect more deeply with the beauty of the natural world... to each other... and themselves.

Whether painting in words or pictures, the works I create share a complicated mix of characteristics: vulnerability, courage, resilience, emotional expression, cleverness, and flaws. My subjects are both extraordinary ... and recognizable. The underlying message I would like to promote is that nature is a captivating gift that needs no adornment. We are all unique, and ordinary lives can be transformed by self-acceptance and risk.