OUR ARTISTS

Diane Bay

THE PAPA GALLERY

Diane Bay

Diane Bay is a self-taught pastel artist based in Benton, KY, creating tonal landscapes en plein air and in the studio, which reflect her felt responses to nature. She uses muted colors to evoke peacefulness while letting the hues of nature sing. She has won numerous awards, including a first and a second place in regional plein air events.

Diane, who was adopted as an infant, has considered herself an artist all her life. When she and her husband, Rich, retired to the Kentucky Lake area, she began to pursue her art in earnest, winning awards for her nostalgic graphite drawings. Then, in 2012, she met her birth parents, the actor Karen Black and the producer Robert Benedetti, thereby discovering her artistic lineage. This revelation, along with their acceptance of her, sparked Diane’s creativity. She enjoyed oil painting workshops from regional artists including Kathie Odom, and she studied with Gayle Levée in an online atelier. She also experimented with other media, including watercolors and alcohol ink, before landing on pastels, which combined her acquired painting skills with her love of drawing.

Diane is inspired by artists such as J. Alden Weir and Henry Twachman, whose work explored the intersection of tonalism and impressionism. Her recent paintings express the mood of the golden hours, using muted, warm pastel colors to create peaceful, contemplative paintings.

Diane’s work is in private collections throughout the Midwest, and is featured in the permanent collection of the Owensboro Museum of Fine Art.

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