Diane Houle-Rutherford

(Ottawa, Ontario, Canada)

Biography – Biographie

For 25 years I worked as a consultant in leadership, coaching and creative thinking, teaching the art of combining ideas, helping leaders to know each other better and change their perspective on issues. Retired, I am now exploring the art of combining colours and shapes. Art was always in my life but not at the centre of it. From my youth I was attracted to painting, and later explored various crafts using my interest in creativity: I sought to combine and render the essence of things I saw, always building on my experience. I am an amateur photographer and most of my photos explore some beautiful aspect of life and nature. I am now a neophyte artist seeking to further my development, looking for my strengths, while recognizing that the learning process is long with many ebbs and flows.

Statement – Démarche artistique

My current interest lies in exploring the arts in relation to the creative process. I want to create by combining colours and moving shapes with a view to communicating spiritual perspectives, deep emotions, aspirations, and what I love about what I see and experience. In my career I have always understood that creativity requires imagination, knowledge, and a critical perspective. I know I have imagination and now I am working on developing my knowledge, skills, and techniques to allow me to communicate better what is of importance to me.

I am in awe of nature around me but rendering that beauty on the canvas is challenging. I am determined to do something new, but that still connects with the original beauty, maybe only through my eyes. Sometimes I try to put the idea on its head and create something totally new, changing the perspective completely.

I am looking for my voice, my style, knowing what I do not like and trying to build on what I like. I see artistic growth as a series of realizations, and starts and stops, with occasional moments of awe. I also recognize that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.