Diana Watson

An artist that captures the true essence of nature

Sunshine in the Winter

Diana Watson knows her way around flowers.  It is almost as if she has climbed inside them.  She paints her flowers as though she were Thumbelina,  looking deeply into the blooms, taking note of the detail,  marks and imperfections of each petal.    As flowers unfurl, they reach a point of perfection and then slowly begin to deteriorate the more they open.  The petals become more fragile, look slightly bruised and the stems and petals start drooping.   It is this process that Diana captures so well.

We discovered Diana some 10 years ago when we bought a big glorious rendition of waxy orange tulips on a black background.  This painting lived on my balcony in Paddington for many years and it never failed to bring us pleasure.

Diana’s  still life paintings are also wonderful.   She recently received the exciting news that Rick Stein had purchased one of her still life paintings of lemons.  This painting is hanging in one of his restaurants in Padstow in the UK.  The Stein group have now asked her permission for copyright to use the image of her painting on their new menus! 

I chatted to Diana Watson earlier today and asked her a couple of questions:

What time of the day do you paint?  

DW:  I paint all day really - off and on - I start at 9.00 and usually end at 4.30.  

Are you disciplined to paint every day?

DW:  I guess I am,  yes - I am driven!

Were you a keen drawer as a child?  

DW:  Yes I was.  I remember sitting on my father's knee and I remember him teaching me how to draw horses.  We lived on a horse stud in Perth. 

Where do you find the flowers that you paint?  

DW: I pick them walking around Kirribilli and also sometimes buy them from the florist.  I photograph flowers and have a huge library of photos.  I sometimes wish I had access to a big country garden!             

Is the painting of flowers your ultimate genre or do you think you might move on to something else?   

DW: I love painting fabric and I guess that's always been a challenge for me.  One can view these works on my website  under the heading 'Nova'.  I had an exhibition showing these works in Perth a while ago.

What do you do to relax?  

DW: I love sewing!  Anything from wedding dresses to linen kimonos which I have made for the girls in my family.  I have managed to source some amazing linens and have  made an entire summer wardrobe for myself!

I loved chatting to Diana and found her to be a really inspirational woman!

Her forthcoming exhibition entitled "Campo de Fiori" is in Double Bay at The Frances Keevil Gallery  and opens This coming weekend…. beginning 6 August.  

Showing the huge scale of some of Diana's artworks

Venice

White lace

Summers end

Wild Flowers

Her paintings in real life are incredible!  If you have time over the weekend do stop by and have a look!