Diane Buster Works
Diane moved to New Mexico with her husband in 1970. She found the southwest landscape and colors inspiring and began to explore them through painting, primarily in watercolor.. She joined the New Mexico Watercolor Society and participated in workshops and paint outs with artists including George Post, Robert Wood and Milford Zornes. Inspired, Diane decided to enroll at the University of New Mexico changing her liberal arts English major to studio art with an art history minor. She continued studying watercolors with Sam Smith and began studying other media with Harry Nadler. Diane earned her BFA in 1985, and added a Master’s Degree in education in 1987. With this background, Diane began teaching language arts and drama at Jefferson Middle School eventually teaching drama at Sandia High School. Diane incorporated her love of art into her lesson plans, using art images as writing prompts and art theory in set and lighting design. Diane retired from teaching in 2005. For the next couple of years Diane worked at the family’s frame shop and gallery. Southwest Cornerhouse. In 2007 the family business closed and Diane began painting full time. Currently, Diane works from a loft studio in her mountain log home ten miles south of Tijeras. Her favorite medium now is oil.
“I love the textures and feel of oils and love leaving the marks of the brushwork which show the hand of the artist. I have a goal to keep improving my observation skills and so participate both in plein air and life drawing and painting opportunities. Studying and working with other artists inspires growth. I have many painting friends through my participation in the Rio Grande Art Association, The Plein Air Painters of New Mexico, the New Mexico Art League, and most recently through the Paint the Ballet cooperative.
I admire the Hudson River School painters and their romantic landscapes. Wilson Hurrley and Edgar Payne are the southwest artists I most admire. To me, art is all about communication. The artist perceives and tries to understand the world and then chooses a form, be it dance, music, literature, or visual arts to translate that understanding and present it to others. I choose to try to translate my love of the southwest onto the canvas. The moods of the day, the effects of weather, beauty in the mundane are all areas I enjoy exploring”
“I love the textures and feel of oils and love leaving the marks of the brushwork which show the hand of the artist. I have a goal to keep improving my observation skills and so participate both in plein air and life drawing and painting opportunities. Studying and working with other artists inspires growth. I have many painting friends through my participation in the Rio Grande Art Association, The Plein Air Painters of New Mexico, the New Mexico Art League, and most recently through the Paint the Ballet cooperative.
I admire the Hudson River School painters and their romantic landscapes. Wilson Hurrley and Edgar Payne are the southwest artists I most admire. To me, art is all about communication. The artist perceives and tries to understand the world and then chooses a form, be it dance, music, literature, or visual arts to translate that understanding and present it to others. I choose to try to translate my love of the southwest onto the canvas. The moods of the day, the effects of weather, beauty in the mundane are all areas I enjoy exploring”