Art Background

Diane Powers discovered a passion for painting when she was rendering scientific illustrations while working towards her B.A. in Biological Sciences at Southern Illinois University. During an elected art class she was recommended to study in Paris under Patrick Betaudier. It was at Mr. Betaudier’s Atelier Neo Medici that Diane realized her love for Renaissance and figurative painting.  It is under the direction of   Mr. Betaudier that Diane learned the “technique mixte”, a painting method that employs a tempera emulsion that is coated with multiple layers of oil glaze.

The painting method she learned while studying in France is a centuries old technique used by Renaissance painters in the 15th century. Paintings begin with an accurate graphite rendering. Then earth tone tempera is added to create a dimensional underlayment upon which colored oils are added.  Each painting is actually a series of illustration, underlayment and layers upon layers of colors. This painstaking method of painting yields a finished piece that has uncanny depth, dimension and luminosity that must be seen to be believed.

Diane has also attended Northern Illinois University, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her work “In the Arms of an Angel” was dedicated to those who lost their lives at Columbine High School, and received publicity in the Chicago Tribune.  She received recognition as a finalist out of 13,000 applicants in the “still-life competition” in Artist Magazine. She is currently working on   an assortment of commission pieces.