Meet watercolor artist, Diane Mitchell. She captures moments of intense energy in time while reacting to how colors and light play with each other. Embracing her color obsessed style, Diane creates extraordinary relationships between things that are ordinary. She exaggerates colors to inspire emotions, memories, and feelings that might usually go unnoticed in every day. Get to know Diane and learn how she describes her palette, her greatest accomplishment and more with our LBSPY Q&A.

1. How do you describe your palette?
My palette is all watercolors, mostly primary colors warm and cool. I have some serious darks and some juicy oranges, reds and yellows. You can make any color in the universe from the 3 primaries, but it’s always nice to have a few extracurriculars like turquoise and pyrelene maroon.

2. What’s your greatest accomplishment?
If I only get one answer, my son. He’s 29 now. I’m still here and so is he. Being a parent is the hardest job I have ever had but so worth it. I can’t imagine not having him in my life. If I get another answer, my brother and I took care of our parents and kept them home and comfortable until they passed at 94 years of age. We did good on that one. And if I get another answer I am proud of my husband and I moving to a totally new place (from NJ), establishing a good life here and being able to say that I am a watercolor artist and Signature Member of the WV Watercolor Society. (I didn’t paint until I retired.)

3. What obstacles do you need to overcome to find your creative space/muse?
I really procrastinate like nobody’s business. I can rationalize and waste time like no one else. I am working on that. I can just be apprehensive about painting and it not turning out well so I’ll put it off until the last minute for entering a show. I’m working on that too.

4. How do you find your inspiration?
I’m really inspired by something that’s so full of colors it takes my breath away. Like Autumn – the whole season, I practically need oxygen. Watching the wind fool around and dance with the leaves. The flowers for sale up at the Flower Tent, a fantastic sunset or a goldfinch, a cardinal and a purple finch on the bird feeder – all at once. Or the experience of waking up in the winter to fresh snow with all those diamonds and long ultramarine blue shadows. It doesn’t take much, it’s everywhere.

5. What advice do you have for other artists?
Don’t ignore your desire to paint. And don’t wait until you retire to find the time. If it’s something you always wanted to do then do it now because you have the talent it’s just a bit dormant. Art is good for your brain. Take classes they help a lot. Look at videos on youtube (they’re free) and join a local art group like the Greenbrier Artists!

If you would like to learn more about Diane, visit dianemitchellwatercolors.blogspot.com. If you are out during Share the Love Fest on Saturday, May 16th, you may just see her at Artisans’ Row with the Greenbrier Artists!

– LBSPY #65, May 2015.