About the Artist
Diane Haley was born in California and grew up in the breath-taking natural wonder of California - Yosemite National Park.
Her parents chose to raise their family in the Sierras, and at the age of five, her family moved to Yosemite National Park in October 1970. In her elementary school days, Diane got in trouble for constantly drawing instead of paying attention in class. This was definitely a foreshadowing of her career as an artist, which continued to develop during her high school years at boarding school in Monterey, California.
Diane believes her creative intuitiveness was given to her by both parents. “My father was a carpenter, and my mother worked for the Yosemite Association, where she was the creative force that brought art lessons to the visitors at the Park, and consequently to me; she and I would take lessons from the visiting artists.”
Meeting the artists that taught in Yosemite exposed Diane to a new way of thinking. She attended Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, receiving a B.F.A. in Illustration in 1990. Diane’s commercial art career was very successful and involved work in many diverse industries, including: animation, the gaming and movie industries, ad campaigns, and work for the Olympics.
During this time, Diane also became involved in sailing, where she had the opportunity to sail to Mexico, up and down California, and across the Pacific on a 60-foot sailboat. After crossing the Pacific, Diane was given the opportunity to show her art in the historic Thomas Hill Studio at the Wawona Hotel in Yosemite. Her showcase included 17 paintings of Yosemite Valley and surrounding areas. “Having my first fine art show at the Thomas Hill Studio in Wawona in 1993 was an incredible, historic event. My eyes were full of the ocean blue, and this is reflected in my paintings. This was truly my ‘blue period.’”
The colors expressed in Diane's paintings are a result of what has happened in her life at the time. “The atmospheres in my paintings have so much to do with what I am experiencing in life. Who knows what’s next on my paint pallet; I’m learning to fly a helicopter!”
Diane is now the mother of three daughters, and lives with her husband and children in the Sacramento area.
Her parents chose to raise their family in the Sierras, and at the age of five, her family moved to Yosemite National Park in October 1970. In her elementary school days, Diane got in trouble for constantly drawing instead of paying attention in class. This was definitely a foreshadowing of her career as an artist, which continued to develop during her high school years at boarding school in Monterey, California.
Diane believes her creative intuitiveness was given to her by both parents. “My father was a carpenter, and my mother worked for the Yosemite Association, where she was the creative force that brought art lessons to the visitors at the Park, and consequently to me; she and I would take lessons from the visiting artists.”
Meeting the artists that taught in Yosemite exposed Diane to a new way of thinking. She attended Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, receiving a B.F.A. in Illustration in 1990. Diane’s commercial art career was very successful and involved work in many diverse industries, including: animation, the gaming and movie industries, ad campaigns, and work for the Olympics.
During this time, Diane also became involved in sailing, where she had the opportunity to sail to Mexico, up and down California, and across the Pacific on a 60-foot sailboat. After crossing the Pacific, Diane was given the opportunity to show her art in the historic Thomas Hill Studio at the Wawona Hotel in Yosemite. Her showcase included 17 paintings of Yosemite Valley and surrounding areas. “Having my first fine art show at the Thomas Hill Studio in Wawona in 1993 was an incredible, historic event. My eyes were full of the ocean blue, and this is reflected in my paintings. This was truly my ‘blue period.’”
The colors expressed in Diane's paintings are a result of what has happened in her life at the time. “The atmospheres in my paintings have so much to do with what I am experiencing in life. Who knows what’s next on my paint pallet; I’m learning to fly a helicopter!”
Diane is now the mother of three daughters, and lives with her husband and children in the Sacramento area.
