Diana Rudkin

Diana is originally from the Central North Island and studied at the E.I.T. in Napier. She has a diploma in Visual Art and Design and majored in painting.

She recently spent some time in central Otago, but has returned to her home of Taumarunui, where she is once again surrounded by the mountains that she grew up with - Mount Ruapehu, Tongariro and Ngauruhoe. It is these mountains that made up her first solo exhibition 'Views from Taurewa' at Gallery De Novo (2007).

Diana works in oil on canvas using excellent quality materials. Her finishing is flawless to the point her paintings can take on a photographic feel. She is particularly inspired by the look of old soft-focus photographs, and likes to recreate the look of hand-coloured historic photos in her work. Her technique begins with painting the landscape in layer upon layer of sepia tones, adding the soft colouring as the final layer.

In 2007 Diana won the Ruapehu District prize in the Waimarino Art Awards and one of the works from her exhibition was selected by the Kelliher Arts Trust for their collection.