Diane Lee
Franklin, Tennessee
Diane Lee is a Tennessee artist best known for her exuberant florals, tantalizing land and ocean scapes, and ethereal abstracts; all rooted in her love of the French Impressionistic style of painting. Her ever changing, miraculous and challenging muse is nature itself. Diane’s paintings can be a parade of distinctive yet harmonious splashes of somber, soft, provocative colors that mark her skill as a colorist. Her paintings are rich with movement and she paints with the goal of drawing you in for a closer look.
Her first recollections of her passion for art began around age four when her love of crayons and markers kept her happily occupied drawing on any surface available to her. A defining event manifested the path she would one day follow when her kindergarten teacher asked the class to draw a picture of a windy fall day. While other children drew a picture of a leaf or cloud, at the age of five, Diane presented a full composition replete with a landscape, children with their hair blowing and clouds overhead. She was recognized as a budding artist when she garnered the second place in New York City’s Parochial Schools Art Competition. She polished her art skills by painting and drawing for neighbors and family as a youth and has painted for pleasure throughout her life. Out of practicality, Diane abandoned her art and studied nursing and science in college. After a lengthy, very fulfilling career as a Registered Nurse, Diane has celebrated her retirement. As a retirement surprise, her husband gave her the gift of art lessons. That gift rekindled her passion for art and has spurred the work she is creating today! While quite capable of painting in a variety of styles, her skill as an artist continues to develop and evolve after working with noted art instructors Gayle Levee & Millie Jarrett.
Though she will always be a New Yorker at heart, Diane now resides in Franklin, Tennessee with her husband, William, and their dogs Baxter & Archer. She paints passionately and each work is a representation of her thoughts or surroundings; sometimes both. Her work can be seen in a number of galleries in Alabama & Tennessee and in private collections across the United States.
Want to hear more about Diane? Check out the video interview from when she was our Artist of the Month!
