Painting Gallery
by Diane Pinney

I celebrate the sunshine in God’s world; there is always some sign of warm light in my paintings. Transparency, whimsy and a bit of a story – my favorite things to paint!.

     "Sissy and Kyle"

(8 x 10)
Colored Pencil Portrait

Colored pencil rendering based on technique taught by Ann Kullberg, Federal Way, WA.
Photograph taken by Clif Droke in Stanley, ID, December 2000. Photo enlarged, cropped, and lightly traced onto white Rising Stonehenge paper; portrait then completed using professional-grade colored pencils (Prismacolor). This painting was particularly interesting because of the complex pattern in Sissy's jacket and the four different textures of snow. Notice the packed snow on Kyle's hat, the fluffy flakes on Sissy's mitten and fur trim, the somewhat dirty snow on Kyle's jacket and the snow on the fence posts and roof tops in the background. The blurred impressions of the buildings in the background were achieved by turning the reference photo and the painting upside down to avoid drawing discernable shapes.

Portrait earned Honorable Mention in Ann Kullberg's Members Show, jurored by Vera Curnow, Feb. 2001

2001

     "Jessica"

(8x10)
Colored Pencil Portrait

Colored pencil rendering based on technique taught by Ann Kullberg, Federal Way, WA.
Photograph of Clif Droke's granddaughter Jessica Candela, enlarged, cropped, and lightly traced onto white Rising Stonehenge paper; portrait is then completed using professional-grade colored pencils (Prismacolor). The reflections in the window are of the building across the street reflecting back in its own windows the building where the subject is seated. The blurred effect was achieved by turning the reference photo and the painting upside down to avoid drawing discernable shapes.

2000

     "Plumeria Alba"

(10 x 12)
Colored Pencil Still Life

Colored pencil on white Rising Stonehenge. The cluster of white Plumeria is arranged on a piece of palm bark with a rugged texture, for contrast. The shells catch the shadows from late afternoon sun. Notice how the purples of the large shell in the foreground are repeated in the shadows around the flowers and at the edges of the bark. French grays were used to indicate the neatly rolled edges of the pure white flowers.

2001

     "Do we have to go home now?"

(8 x 10)
Colored Pencil Still Life

Colored pencil on tan Rising Stonehenge. The sandshoes are transparent, with the pair in the foreground clear and glittered. The setting sun created interesting shadows on the sand and reflected through the shoes. Notice the change in the texture of the sand from the foreground to the background. A pointillism technique was used in the foreground to capture the coarseness of the sand and gradually diminishes toward the background where only the tide patterns remain.

2001

     "Emeralds and Rubies in the Rain"

(8 x 10)
Colored Pencil Still Life

Colored pencil on white Rising Stonehenge. Water soluble colored pencils were used as the first wash and base for each individual leaf and flower. Waxed-based colored pencils were then layered over and burnished multiple times to achieve the high gloss and wet look of the foliage. The photo was taken in the rain so the leaves and flowers were dripping with water droplets.

2001

     "Port Townsend"

(13 x 10)
Colored Pencil Landscape

A colored pencil rendering from a photo taken at Port Townsend, WA.

2005

     "Fireflies"

(10 x 13)
Colored Pencil

A colored pencil painting from photos and several leaves gathered in the Park Blocks in SW Portland. Fireflies were very common in the Midwest and bring back memories of hot summer nights as a child.

2005

     "Awakening"

(10 x 14)
Mixed media

A mixed media painting of fluid acrylics, colored pencil and gold leaf. The mysterious spiritual images are left to the imagination.

2006

     "Poppies for Saint Thekla"

(19 x 15)
Mixed media collage

A mixed media of painted and torn tissue paper, fluid acrylics, colored pencil and gold leaf. The reference photo was taken during a trip to Turkey. The chapel for St. Thekla is underground and the meadow above was filled with blooming red poppies on this particular day.

2006

     "Ed’s Rose"

(13 x 10)
Watercolor

This painting was selected for the juried 2006 Portland Rose Art Show, an official event of the annual Rose Festival. The painting was done in fond memory of a dear neighbor in Illinois who grew test roses for Perkins up until his death.

2006

     "Poppies"

(10 x 14)
Watercolor

An abstract painting to capture the transparency of the poppy blossoms and the delicate fuzzy green pods. My image is of poppies reaching up to the heavens through the clouds.

2007

     "Quiet Morning in the Garden"

(10 x 13)
Watercolor

This painting is of an ideal place to spend the early morning hours: watering, mediating, reading or just listening…

2007

     "Big Fat Hens"

(15 x 13)
Watercolor

This painting came about after a Wynton Marsalis concert in Eugene, Oregon when his jazz band played a funky song called “The Fat Hen”. I made the initial sketch on an envelope in the hotel before we returned home. Great fun!

2007

     "Barnyard Antics"

(15 x 13)
Watercolor

After completing the hens, I was anxious to try other non-human critters and the pigs were fun to draw. This was the favorite painting in my exhibit at the 2007 Trinity Artists Among Us show and sale.

2007

     "Just a Minute Please"

(20 x 15)
Watercolor

This painting is an illustration of an intriguing poem by Mary Oliver by the same name. The poem describes the plea to a hiker by the elves who are waiting to pass with a small casket, and from the worm and the toad who are trying to cross the path…

2007

     "Still in Style"

(12 x 8)
Watercolor

This painting was a juried entry in the 2007 Portland Rose Art Show at the Oregon Society of Artists gallery, an official event of the Portland Rose Festival. The theme for 2007 was “A Century of Celebration” in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Portland Rose Festival. The old high top shoe was popular in the early 1900’s and the stainless steel heeled, acrylic shoe appears in current fashion magazines.

2007

     "Provencal Stroll"

(10 x 14)
Watercolor

This quaint Provence village is filled with the beautiful weathered wood, terra cotta brick and the steepled church so typical of the little towns in the south of France.

2007

     "Platinum Afternoon"

(14 x 18)
Watercolor

An imaginary setting by a silver stream for a late afternoon respite. The warm sky and distant hills entice the eye while the remaining fall leaves remind one that winter weather will soon change the scene dramatically.

2007

     "Blue Linen"

(12 x 9)
Watercolor

The complimentary colors of the rich, cobalt blue linen napkin and the simple crab shell remind one of the simple pleasures of life and the richness of the things around us.

2007

     "Kissed by a Tiger Swallowtail"

(16 x 30)
Watercolor

2008

     "Let's Play!"

(28 x 20)
Watercolor

2008

     "Kasadasi Rug Factory"

(20 x 24)
Watercolor

2008

     "In the Woods Behind Stanley Creek"

(14 x 17)
Watercolor

2008

     "Mardi Gras Portrait"

(20 x 24)
Watercolor

2008

     "Good Morning Roberto"

(24 x 20)
Watercolor

2009

     "Apricots in the Orchard"

(10 x 8)
Watercolor

2008

     "Off-Broadway Opening"

(27 x 14)
Watercolor

2008

     "One Rose, a Study"

(30 x 14)
Watercolor

2008

     "Super Bowl Sunday"

(22 x 28)
Watercolor

2008

     "Italian Carousel"

(28 x 22)
Watercolor

2009

     "Mercato di Formaggio"

(18 x 21)
Watercolor

2009

     "Matthew"

(9 x 12)
Colored Pencil

Portrait commission

2010

     "Michael"

(12 x 18)
Watercolor

Abstract portrait of my grandson

2010

     "Under the Banyan Tree 1"

(8 x 9)
Watercolor and white gouache

2010

     "Sunday Matinee at the Schnitz"

(12 x 11)
Watercolor and white gouache

This painting was juried into the 2010 Rose Art Show in the category 'Portland Spirit.'

2010

Biography - Diane Pinney

Diane rekindled her interest in and passion for art after retiring and moving to Portland, Oregon in 1999. She took an introductory course ‘Portraits in Colored Pencil’ through Portland Community College. It was a natural! Prior to that, it had been high school since she had studied art; she was an art major in Omaha South High, won several awards for various pieces and took classes in different media at Jocelyn Art Museum in Omaha, NE. But, from then on, it was business courses and a career in finance and business administration – a far cry from the creative world.

Diane feels that her creativity is an expression of the Spirit within her. Painting, for her, is an act of worship and she is mindful of that reality whenever she picks up a brush or a pencil.

email Diane: dianepinney@gmail.com