A dear friend recently said to me ‘Diana, your paintings make people feel happy.’ and I have been thinking about his compliment a lot as I have sold more pieces than usual in recent months through exhibitions and from the Golden Triangle Art Trail.
Why are people attracted to different styles of art? What is it they see or are looking for? I have come to the conclusion that my paintings, which are almost always of a domestic nature or of my travels in Norfolk, make people feel safe, or conjure up happy memories of holidays and being connected to nature.
Or maybe it is something to do with the format? All of the pieces I’ve sold have been on unframed box canvases which enables me to extend the painting round the edges, so there is literally more to see, making it more interesting by giving it an extra dimension.
My visit to West Norfolk in June continues to inspire me and I have just completed two pieces, of highland cattle and of the garden where we staying.
In the above paintings you will see a teapot and a buzzard, both quite tricky things to paint so, despite over 60 years of drawing, I still need to practice and do preliminary sketches, before I commit them to oil.
However old and experienced you are, it is important to keep practising and learning. Two of my former students came to see me and I was demonstrating different techniques around texture and layering and in doing so discovered new ways of working with oils, as shown in the pictures below. Experimenting, testing ideas and seeing the potential in the unexpected is what art – and my continued love of painting – is all about.
If you have been inspired by my recent work, please do visit Mandells Gallery Summer Exhibition on Elm Hill in Norwich, where you will see a couple of my pieces plus the work of lots of other local artists. There are more shows on the horizon, we’ll keep you posted vis this website or follow me on Facebook or Instagram.
Finally thank you to all those who bought my work at the 20Group show in the Undercroft.
Diana Lamb 