Diane Buster, Artist

Diane's interest in painting began when she and her husband moved to New Mexico in 1970. She found the southwest landscape inspiring and she began exploring its changing colors primarily through watercolor. She joined the New Mexico Watercolor Society and participated in workshops with artists including George Post, Robert Wood, and Milford Zornes. To enhance her art education she enrolled at UNM, receiving her BFA in 1985, and her Masters in Education in 1987.

Since retirement, Diane is pursuing painting full time. Her primary focus is landscape painting. Her medium is usually oil, though occasionally she goes back to watercolor. Diane is a member of the Rio Grande Arts Association, the New Mexico Watercolor Society, the Plein Air Painters of New Mexico, and the East Mountain Art Association.

Diane enjoys working with other artists and learning from them. She regularly paints with members of the East Mountain Artists Association, practices life drawing and painting at the Albuquerque Artists Studio, and participates in scheduled paint outs with the Plein Air Painters of New Mexico. She is again taking advantage of workshop opportunities. Recent workshops include watercolor workshops with David Daniels and Bud Edmondson, landscape workshops with John Poon and David Schwindt, and portrait workshops with Fred Miller and Robert Kuester. Diane works from her mountain home studio and exhibits her work through local shows and art markets.

"My goal is to expand my observation skills so that I can translate my vision and excitement about the landscape to the canvas. I admire the Hudson River School painters, love the work of Wilson Hurley, and enjoy paintings that imply a narrative like the work of Edward Hopper. Atmospheric perspective, the effects of light, and beauty in the mundane are areas I'm currently exploring. I think of art as communication through form. I believe it crucial to become as adept as possible in your given mediums and that it is imperative to have passion about your subject matter. When occasionally a painting speaks to someone else and stirs a familiar chord, I believe that communication and therefore art has happened."