Diana Sanford's work has won honors in the last three Pastel Journal 100 Competitions as well as in juried shows across the Pacific Northwest. Although much of her work is abstract or non-objective, she also paints representational landscapes. The visual language of all her work reflects the considerable time she’s devoted to being in the outdoors and remote wilderness areas. Her style is also influenced by her work as a psychotherapist.
"Throughout my life and across mediums, the landscape has been my guide and inspiration. My early work was abstract but still landscape reduced to a certain light event. I’ve always loved painting without an agenda – setting up and hoping for the magic that occurs when I can step aside and watch as one color meets another on the canvas. I've always been aware of an inner contest between the part of me that wants to be intentional, and the part that wants to surrender to the moment. Recent findings in cognitive neuroscience have revealed that those two modes of attention are simply the preferred modes of the hemispheres of the brain. I'm fascinated by this discovery and the effect it's having on my work."
Sanford began painting as a child taking her first lessons from her father and her grandmother. Later she earned a BA in painting from the College of Creative Studies, University of California at Santa Barbara as well as a Master’s in Clinical Psychology from Western Washington University. After spending over twenty years as a practicing psychotherapist, she is now splitting her time between her office and her studio – giving more time to a passion that has been waiting. She has been influenced by many painters along the way including Clyfford Still, George Inness and the contemporary Forrest Moses.
Sanford lives in Wenatchee, Washington with the Cascades to her west and the coulees of the Columbia Basin to her east. She lives with her husband, Neal, who is a wildlife biologist and stewardship director for their local land trust organization.
Juried Exhibitions and Awards
ArtsWest, "Abstract Observations", W. Seattle, Sept-Oct 2012
NWPS 25th Annual International Exh., American Art Co., Tacoma, WA. 2011
The Pastel Journal, 12th Annual Pastel 100 Competition, Silver Medal Award for Excellence, 2011
Northwest Pastel Society (NWPS) 28th Juried Members Exhibition, Bellingham, WA.
1st Honorable Mention, 2010
NWPS 24th Annual International Exhibition, American Art Co., Tacoma, WA. 2010
Moses Lake Museum and Art Center , Juried Invitational, Honorable Mention, 2010
The Pastel Journal, 11th Annual Pastel 100 Competition, 4th place – Abstracts, 2010
NWPS 23rd Annual International Exhibition, American Art. Co., Tacoma, WA. 2009
NWPS 27th Juried Members Exhibition, Bellingham, WA. Honorable Mention, 2009
The Pastel Journal, 10th Annual Pastel 100 Competition, Honorable Mention - Abstracts, 2009
The Pastel Journal, Creative Spark runner up, July 2009
N. Central Washington Museum and Cultural Center, “Apple Art”, Wenatchee, WA. 2008
Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center Juried Exhibition, Wenatchee, WA. 2007
Associated Arts of Ocean Shores, 38th National Juried Exhibition, Ocean Shores, WA. 2007
NWPS Juried Members Exhibition, Anacortes, WA. 2007
Moses Lake Museum and Art Center, Columbia Basin Juried Invitational, 2005 & 2007
Gallery ’76, 20th Annual National Juried Show, Wenatchee, WA. Best of Show 2003
Gallery ’76, 17th Annual National Juried Show, Wenatchee, WA. Best of Show 2000
Select Solo and Group Exhibitions
Gallery 4 South, "In the Moment" featured artist, May 2011
The Virginia Inn, Solo Exhibition, 1st and Virginia, Seattle, WA 2011
Confluence Gallery, “Harvesting the Light” Group invitational, Twisp, WA. 2010
Confluence Gallery, “Weathering Change” Group Invitational, Twisp, WA. 2010
Imbibe Wine and Art Bar, Solo Show, Moses Lake, WA. 2010
Chelan-Douglas Land Trust Benefit Show, Duet Exhibition, Wenatchee, WA. 2008
Soap Lake Art Museum (S.L.A.M.) Solo Exhibition, Soap Lake, WA. 2007
Affiliations:
Confluence Gallery, Twisp, WA.
N. Central Regional Library, Wenatchee, WA. Permanent collection
Chelan-Douglas Land Trust , Wenatchee office
Signature Member: Pastel Society of America
Signature Member: Northwest Pastel Society
Education and Employment:
BA Painting College of Creative Studies, University of California at Santa Barbara, 1981
MS Clinical Counseling Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 1988
Self employed counselor and artist, 1988 to present
