Artist Statement: I choose to portray animals because I find them more beautiful, more fascinating and more symbolic than any other subject matter. I cannot comprehend a world without animals.
Animals have a story to tell. One must understand them to comprehend these stories. Ancient man deciphered animal stories millions of years ago. The beautiful paintings on the cave walls of Lascaux, France are the proof.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
A Northern Michigan native, Kim Diment’s art brings personality and life to the animals she portrays. Both her art and love for animals started at young age. Her first preteen sketches came from wanderings along the backwaters of the AuSable River. She drove her parents nuts by bringing home toads, frogs, turtles, and orphaned animals. Her brother ruined her high school social life by dubbing her “Nature Girl". After High School, Kim’s formal training involved a double major from Michigan State University in Fine Arts and Zoology. She later went on to teach High School art for thirteen years while simultaneously pursuing an art career. Kim has been fortunate to be able to do traveling throughout the world. One of her favorite locations is Africa. She is also a frequent visitor to Arizona and western USA. She has also visited South America, Canada/Churchill, New Zealand and Europe. Kim has trained under Rod Lawrence, Robert Bateman, Mark Mehaffey, John Seery-Lester, Simon Combes, and Morton Solberg.
Kim and her husband own and manage the Main Branch Art Gallery of Grayling Michigan featuring nature inspired artists. Currently the gallery houses artists from the Great Lakes Region. Kim is a board member for the International Society of Animal Artists. Her work can be viewed at kimdiment.com
* This statement has been provided directly by the artist in association to their 16th International ARC Salon entries. This content has not been edited for typos or grammatical errors and has not been vetted for accuracy.