Art in Todos Santos

"My formative years were spent in Europe and later Canada.  The wanderlust running through my veins has taken me all over the world but it wasn't until I discovered southern Baja that I truly learned to live in the present.  Mexico, and especially this part of Mexico, is hard to describe in logical terms.  Mexico lives in your senses - the light is incredible, the sky such a brilliant blue; the smell of snow on the mountain, jasmine and rosemary; the sound of crickets at night and more songbirds than I could ever imagine waking you up in the morning.

I am inspired by the intensity of the light, the vibrant colors and how cultures use color to express themselves, the musical notes of life and love, and the fragrant smells of the earth and its offspring.  I feel the energy that comes from the freedom to just be.

My paintings are created through my senses, my whole being coming together to capture on canvas the inner significance of the subject that just has to be painted.  I draw on my recent travels through Mexico, Guatemala, Italy and France."

Diane Knight was born in Canada and spent her childhood moving every few years with the Canadian Armed Forces.  Her family lived in numerous cities across Canada as well as spending a number of years in France.  It was in France where she became enthralled with European architecture & culture and started painting street scenes on small canvas boards to decorate her bedroom.  She neglected her painting for many years as she delved into building a career in the oil & gas business in Calgary, Alberta.  Her 28 year business career was spent primarily in a marketing role which allowed her to travel extensively in the United States and Canada. Diane lost her husband to cancer in 1982 and turned back to painting to work through her pain and capture her memories before they slipped away.  She spent hours looking over photographs of their travels and transforming those memories into watercolor paintings.  Diane started painting in acrylics in the last decade to achieve the intensity and freshness of color that you find in her work today.

She met her new husband, Vic Kirby, in 1994.  They honeymooned in Mexico in 1996 and two years later bought their first home in Mexico in San Jose del Cabo, B.C.S.  Their shared love of art and the desire to become part of a lively artistic community brought them to Todos Santos in 2004 and a few years later they became Mexican citizens.  Diane completed 4 years of study in the Visual Arts and has taken workshops with David Langevin, Michael O’Toole, Brian Simons, Brent Lynch and Mike Svob all recognized as some of the most noteworthy artists in Western Canada.  Prior to moving to Todos Santos, Diane led week long workshops in San Jose del Cabo, drawing on her business experience in organizing and running events.  Her work has been displayed in galleries in Calgary, Bragg Creek, San Jose del Cabo and now Todos Santos.

Diane creates in her "Purple Door Studio" in El Centro, Todos Santos and is a founding member of A.R.T.S. "Artists of Todos Santos".

Media:  Acrylic
Website : www.dianeknight.ca

Exhibitions: