Diane Ainsworth is a professional artist living in Taos, New Mexico. She majored in fine art at Oklahoma University and the University of Tulsa. Watercolor was her medium of choice at the beginning of her career. In 1985 she returned to oils after being inspired by plein air painters in Taos New Mexico, where she took a workshop. The colors, texture and richness of the oils were a wonderful combination to express the vivid hues and glorious light of New Mexico.

Diane is inspired by the contrast of light and dark, or the sense of place, the colors, the mood or even the subject itself. Many subjects attract me including landscapes, harbors, interiors, street scenes and figures. Using oil paint allows Diane Ainsworth to have thin areas of paint or big rich thick areas.

She paints spontaneously using a lot of rhythm and movement pushing and exaggerate the colors and values. She likes the contrast of viewing her work closely or far away. Up close the painting becomes abstract forms of strokes and texture, from across the room it’s impressionistic and the shapes fall into place. She is known as an impressionist painter but as she continues to explore and grow into the more expressionistic realm even touching on abstract painting. The painting process is both thrilling and frustrating, but Dian feels very fortunate to be a painter and grateful for the challenges and the pleasure it brings her.