It adds another dimension to just drawing on paper, when her subject can be determined by the luck dip of what type of library card she might find. Some of these have children’s names scribbled all over them with the classic typewriter’s typesetting. The dates are really old too! Well not that old…there’s a couple on there from the year I was born.

Diana’s latest artworks can be seen on her blog. And see just a few of Diana’s library card artworks below…

How have you got to where you are today?

I have been drawing seriously for about 6-8 years. I learnt a lot over those years: what mediums and techniques I liked to use (watercolour and collage), and further developed my style. I started my own blog which originally was to show my jewelry but that soon made way for my illustrations and I have been posting new art works on it ever since.

About 18 months ago I started selling my pieces in a great shop Don’t tell Fannie in West End. Selling pieces there has been a great boost to my confidence. People are buying my art and (hopefully) hanging it somewhere they see it all the time.

I was also published last year in the Design Federation Annual and hope to find more publications that like my work. So it is really early days, and I am definitely an emerging artist but it feels like I have started to build some momentum.

I don’t really have an art background or any training. I always loved to draw but had no confidence and didn’t take it seriously. I started doing more and more as I got older as a way of coping with my depression. The more I did the more I loved it and it has just gone from there.

In a few words, describe yourself…

Neurotic, high maintenance and funny (can you call yourself funny?)

What are you spending your time on at the moment?

There is nothing I am working on specifically; it is whatever seems to pop into my head and what works. I have been collecting pieces to sell at Christmas time. I am playing around with water colour and ink patterns. I love repeating the same patterns over and over. Some pieces have 5 to 6 hours of drawing the same lines over and over.

Do you have a ritual for getting into the creative mindset? Or a creative process?

It usually involves going down stairs to where my desk is with coffee, tea, or wine, depending on the time of day. I will often start by picking a frame from my op shop collection and cutting the paper to match.

I love to have music on (although I get distracted and stop painting and start singing). I will often have a picture that I am taking inspiration from. Sometimes I will sketch something over and over in my sketchbook. Sometimes I do it straight onto the paper, add colour, experiment and sometimes I start all over again.

What or who inspires you?

Artists who are true to their own style and are doing something new are always inspiring. I love Courtney Brim’s (see her article on DM here) drawings. They are so imaginative and technically amazing.

Listening to Florence + the Machine always inspires me to create. The tools of an artist and wanting to use them somehow also inspire me.

What are you most proud of?

I am proud of taking more and more steps to getting my work out there.

I love that the people who have bought my paintings get pleasure from seeing them over and over again. That is how I feel when I look at the pieces I have in my collection and it is a thrill to know I can effect people that way.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I never thought ‘artist’ despite my love for my Crayola crayons (still love that smell and even made an art piece out of them).

I wanted to sing on Broadway but had no chance and I am not being cute and self deprecating I HAD NO CHANCE!! Also I wanted to be an astronaut. I love the night sky and could stare at the stars for ages. I am a big fan of Van Gogh’s Starry Night.