by Mandy
This week we'd like to introduce you to the amazingly talented Salt Lake City local painter Dianne Gulezian. A native of Maine, she has found inspiration in, and a deep connection with, the varying landscapes of Utah and the intermountain west. Working primarily in oils to create ethereal land and sky-scapes, Gulezian not only conjures a striking sense of realism, but also an element of far-off fantasy.
Dianne’s parents recognized her talents at a young age, and she was enrolled in the first of what would be many years of art lessons. And though their support has continued, Dianne was encouraged to major in another subject when she began classes at the University of Maine. So, it was with a degree in Psychology (and a minor in fine art) that she later made the decision to relocate to Salt Lake City.
How is Dianne doing these days? Let’s just say she isn’t a psychologist. For her, not painting was not an option. Luckily, she has found encouragement, support, and inspiration not only from Utah’s beautiful terrain, but from its people in her life-long pursuit of artistic expression.
The Interview:
Kita: So what first got you into painting?
Dianne: Well, I have been into some form of art as long as I can remember. I remember starting with basic doodlings, and at some point my parents recognized, “Oh she's not stopping, she's drawing and doodling and maybe we should get her in some art lessons.” And so they did! They enrolled me into semi private art lessons, with an independent art teacher who had trained at RISD, [Rhode Island School of Design] and it was wonderful, a great experience. I did that in high school, and was just gradually introduced to all the other mediums, and over time it's become oil painting that has really grabbed me. But I've done just about everything. I've done acrylic, and watercolor. I've done charcoal, colored pencil, and I’ve done pastel.
Kita: So you've really given other stuff a shot, oil is mostly just where you've ended up?
Dianne: Yes.
Kita: So you first started really young. Did you first start painting, or was that something that developed later?
Dianne: Painting didn't really start until a little bit later. I guess after I was in classes for a couple of years and then it was acrylic, it wasn't oil. Oil is a very different beast and I don't think a lot of schools liked to delve too much into it because of the odors. But I did some of it in college. Oil painting was later, acrylic and watercolor through grade school and high school.
Kita: Based on that, because your parents enrolled you, I'm guessing they were pretty supportive?
Dianne: They were! They really wanted to foster and nurture it. But they were also of the mind that when I went to college I needed to focus on something that was going to support me, which was a beautiful gift, because art is not something that is all that easy to support yourself with. So in college, I ended up majoring in psychology and minoring in art. I think given the choice now, I would just focus on the art, as you end up doing, hopefully, what you love and what drives you, and that's where I'm at now.
Mandy: Do you have any family besides your brother here?
Dianne: In Salt Lake, it's my brother and me. I am so blessed and fortunate to have a family here that has kind of adopted me, and my family has adopted them. I do have a girlfriend that I consider a sister, again, so fortunate and blessed. The support is unending. It's been a good thing. Most of my family is back in Maine. I do have an older sister who resides in Portland, Maine and of course my parents. They're rooted at the homestead.
Mandy: So where did you go to college?
Dianne: The University of Maine. I am a Maine girl, born, and raised there. My roots are pretty deep.
Kita: Would you say that Maine, with all it's outdoorsiness, really inspired you to paint or not so much?
Dianne: Yeah, I think all of that played a role. Painting is like breathing for me, so I also think it's something that I didn't really have a lot of choice in. It's like, if I don't do it, then I am not fully alive. So certainly, my environment growing up inspired and affected it, but the west has inspired as much, if not more, with the openness of the landscapes and the quality of them.
Kita: Was that a part of what made you decide to move here?
Dianne: Well, when I decided to move here, my older brother had been here for a couple of years and I had just graduated from college. I was looking for a change and so my brother, on one of his visits home said, “Well, Dianne, why don't you move to Salt Lake? You could move in with me and my roommate.” I didn't give it a whole lot of thought, and just said “Mmkay, sure! Why not?” Everything's equal, right? So it was kind of just one of those stumble into decisions, and I've never regretted it. I love the west and I think Utah has a lot to offer in terms of landscape, with the differences between the high Uintas and the desert. I mean, you go from every different extreme, except the ocean, which I do miss.
Mandy: Yes, from North to South it's barely even the same state.
Dianne: Right! And I love that! I love being able to visit such different landscapes in one state. You know, you have the red rock, and again the mountains, and the west desert, and it's just so beautiful! And nature is really where I plug back in and recharge. So having a lot of that here is a good thing.
Mandy: Do you have a favorite part of the state that sticks out to you?
Dianne: That's a good question. I'm not sure if I do. I've spent a lot of time in areas like Torrey, Boulder, and the west desert. I've done a fair amount of camping out there, but yeah, I mean, how do you pick the prettiest flower in the garden?
Kita: I've definitely noticed in a lot of your stuff, it almost looks like the Midwest with those huge skies.
Dianne: And that's not planned. That's me in communication with the painting as it's progressing. I really have learned that it's important to let the painting dictate where it wants to go. Because otherwise it's this long, drawn out battle, and it ends up going where it to wants anyway. So it's as much feeling where it wants to end up, versus where it's in my head thinking it wants to be.
Kita: Would you say that, had you stayed in Maine, had you not moved to Utah, would you still be doing what you're doing?
Dianne: I would still be painting.
Kita: So it definitely doesn't just belong to the west?
Dianne: No, the painting is so much a part of who I am that it's really independent of where I am. It's just that I am nurtured here and in other places I don't think I'd be as nurtured. I spent a few years in the south, in Nashville, and it was not my cup of tea at all. And you know, that inspiration was just nil - it wasn't there. So I think it's really important to live where you do feel nurtured and inspired and supported and belong.
Kita: When you first started taking painting a little more seriously, were you hoping this would be where you ended up?
Dianne: I think that's always been the underlying goal. I am not sure if anything has ever been really planned. I've never sat down and thought, “okay, this is what's going to happen, you know, a year from now, two years from now, or five or ten years from now.” I don't think I know how to work that way. But I think getting back to the question, that it's certainly always been the whole end wish. And it's only been within the last year or so that this has been full time for me.
Kita: So you've definitely taken a step up in time and effort?
Dianne: Yes, and there's been a lot of learning involved because I really just want to paint. I just want to do art. I don't want to do all the business stuff and the marketing and the selling and the promotion, that’s been hard! Those are kind of foreign concepts to me.
Kita: Would you say those have been your biggest hurdles?
Dianne: For sure, it's the biggest struggle. It doesn't come naturally, promoting myself. And as the independent artist I am the one-woman show. So it all falls on me to get out there and to promote and to let people see and know about me. So yeah, that's been an interesting learning experience.
Kita: As far as the technical side of things goes, is there a certain type of art you'd like to be more involved in?
Dianne: Right now, I'm sticking with what I'm doing. I think it's always good as an artist to explore and play, so certainly, there will be branching out and doing something different, other than just the landscapes. But we'll see. When the time comes, then it will happen. It will organically mature into that.
Mandy: Do you have any other artists that inspire you a lot?
Dianne: I've had favorites. Van Gogh has always been a favorite. Matisse, Picasso, a lot of that genre really.
Mandy: What about your peers? Do you interact with a lot of other artists?
Dianne: Very limited. And I think that's more just a factor of right now, really learning some good time management skills. It seems like there needs to be twelve more hours in a day. It just seems like before you know it, the day is over and then before you can blink the week is over. And then, August becomes September, and then September becomes, you know, next year and it's like, “Where does it all go?!”.
Kita: So you have been at Park Silly Sunday, right?
Dianne: I've done two of them.
Kita: Has it been a good experience?
Dianne: Yes! It was a wonderful experience! I only signed up for two this year. It's been the first event of that nature that I've done and so it was a learning experience all the way around. A lot went into it, and getting ready for it that I had no idea about. But it was wonderful. It was a really, really good experience and I'm very happy that I did it. I will probably do more of them in the next year, more than just two.
Kita: Do you think that will push you into more of like the arts festivals and fairs?
Dianne: I think so, I really do. I hesitate doing the art festival downtown because it's so big and I'm just not quite sure about it really being focused on art. I mean, there's everything there. Kimball Arts Festival, I will be applying to for next year. I think that one tends to be focused more on the arts and not everything else. It's hard knowing which one to do. And it's a big commitment. It's a big financial commitment and a big time commitment, so I think we'll start with Kimball.
Kita: And just work your way up from there?
Dianne: Right! These smaller ones, like the Park Silly and the Avenues have been a great way for me to get my feet wet. And I also think as I do more of this, getting into festivals and venues out of state is going to be really important. That will be one of the next steps, is looking into galleries in Colorado and California.
Kita: So what upcoming shows have you got?
Dianne: There's a fall art show put on by the Holladay Arts Alive Council, in Holladay, that I'll be taking part in again this year. That's in late October. I do have one painting that was juried into the AAUW women’s exhibit, and that opens on Thursday (September 5th) and runs through October 24th. That's at the Utah Cultural Celebration Center, in West Valley; it's a beautiful venue! That's what's on the horizon for right now.
For more information on the incredible Dianne Gulezian, check out her website: http://www.diannegulezian.com/
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