As Fire Island & Great South Bay’s reach expands, we receive more cold-call contacts from artists seeking to be on our covers. However, someone reached out to us to inquire on behalf of one of their parents, who is new to us, as John Keil did for his 78-year-old mother, Diane, in July.
When I read John’s email, my first thought was what a loving act it would be for an adult son to do for his mother, and I have to admit I was curious. Upon reviewing the samples, it was immediately clear that Diane is no Sunday painter.
Here was a woman who took chances and was not afraid to break some rules to create her images. What on first pass looked like well-drafted watercolors had much more going on. Diane was cutting and pasting on top of her watercolors with other images to place subjects and objects where she wanted them to get her desired outcome.
This luscious image, “Forever Friends,” is one such collage––but she goes one step further with bits of driftwood extending outside the fame borders––and Diane has a healthy dose of humor going on here.
Diane emailed me an artist statement shortly after Vicki Schneps selected this image, which explained a lot.
“With years comes the wisdom and the realization of the importance of the friendships we make along the way,” she writes.
Diane Keil’s professional career was in graphic design and advertising. Since retiring, she has been devoting herself full-time to her creative expression. She has exhibited in many venues this publication has covered, including the Davis Park Art Show, Bayard Cutting Arboretum, Arts on Terry in Patchogue, and the Islip Arts Council Gallery.
She is also a member of Women Sharing Art, a not-for-profit organization in Bayport, NY, dedicated to maintaining a forum for creative, professional, artistic women on South Shore Long Island.
