VIVA’s Featured Member Artist for April is Diane Dahl

Meet the Artist

I usually begin my portraits by with a live model for a one hour session, working in Mixed Media, primarily pastels. I take reference photos so I can complete details on my drawing at a later time. The original pastel drawing is scanned and then digital media, mainly Photoshop, are used to add depth, texture, and highlights. As a photographer, I take many 'texture' photos (brick walls, moss, stones, rust, etc.) that I overlay on top of my drawings. Usually a dark one to add depth to the shadow areas and a bright to add additional highlights.  I use a digital pen and Wacom tablet to paint in details. The piece is then printed on a 100% cotton rag paper. Using pastels and pencil, I add some additional line textures to finish the piece. 

The quick one-hour session gets me moving and creates a looser, freer drawing that I can build on. Using digital media allows me to get creative. It frees me to try things I wouldn't normally do for fear of ruining the work I had done. For the background I often use something meaningful to the model. I've used a baby sonogram in the background of a drawing of a pregnant mother. I've also used the client's own photos in the background.