I started painting in oil as therapy.  It allowed me to forget myself for hours at a time and to become immersed in the creating process.  In recent years I have tried other media like acrylics, collage, and printmaking.  Painting en plein air, quickly as the light changes, has been a fun and challenging way to grow as an artist. The abstract landscapes inspired by Arches National Park show the foundation of my work. Now I am leaning even more toward non-objective abstract work and trying to get a splash of emotion on to the canvas.  
    Though I have no art degree, I have taken college level art classes and local classes and workshops to hone my skills.  Membership in the Colorado chapter of Women's Caucus for Art and the Pine Shores Art Association has provided community for inspiration and motivation.
    Diane J Mayer is based in Denver, Colorado and paints in the summer on Long Beach Island, New Jersey.

    Many of my abstract paintings shown on the home page were painted for a recent show, Water Works.  These paintings invite the viewer to reflect on the power of water; its ever-changing nature, the life that teems below the surface, and the calm elicited by its vastness.  Both TWC paintings are a response to Hurricane Sandy.  Many sites where we painted plein air last summer on Long Beach Island New Jersey may no longer exist or are vastly changed.  That is the power of water.