Dyana Hesson shares her inspiring journey as an artist, emphasizing the significance of hard work and planning in her recent exhibition at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. She reflects on how her passion for nature and art intertwined, leading to a remarkable career spanning over 35 years. Throughout the conversation, she highlights the joy of creating connections within the art community and encourages both emerging and established artists to not let fear hold them back. With a focus on collaboration and mutual respect, Dyana's insights offer valuable lessons for anyone in the creative field.

Takeaways:

1. Dyana Hesson shares her journey from a creative child to a professional artist, emphasizing the importance of following one's passion in the arts.
2. Dyana Megan Wimberley highlights the significance of blending creativity with entrepreneurial skills for artists, suggesting that marketing can be a fun and creative outlet.
3. Dyana discusses the challenges of copyright infringement and emphasizes the need for artists to protect their work legally.
4. The podcast reveals how community connections among artists can foster support and growth, stressing that there's room for everyone in the art world.
5. Dyana reflects on the emotional experience of exhibiting her work at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, noting how the right setting enhances the artist's vision.
6. Megan and Dyana encourage artists to embrace their fears and pursue big goals, as overcoming challenges can lead to rewarding experiences in their careers.

Links referenced in this episode:

1. https://www.dyanahesson.com/
2. https://www.instagram.com/dyhesson/
3. arizonasonoradesertmuseum
4. https://vimeo.com/1126277334
5. cowgirlartistsofamerica

Companies mentioned in this episode:

1. Arizona Sonora Desert Museum
2. Phoenix Zoo
3. Cowgirl Up! at the Sigler Western Art Museum
4. Billy Schenk
5. Dennis Zeminski
6. Western Art Collector
7. American Art Collector
8. Southwest Art
9. Cowboys and Indians

Hi, welcome to Cowgirl Artists of America's podcast. I'm your host, Megan Wimberley. And today.

Today I'm very excited to bring Diana Hessen into our podcast recording to talk about an absolutely incredible show that she just did.

We will make sure to put all the links in the show notes, but you're going to want to make sure to check out her work and the beautiful exhibition she had at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. Diana, welcome to the podcast.

Good morning, Megan. Superstar Megan.

Not me. People are you people are going to be drooling over your work and what you've done when they see it. I'm so happy to have you here.

And what I always like to start with is, instead of me just reading your bio, which we will put up elsewhere, I would love for you to just tell everybody a little bit about yourself, how you came into art and, and how your career has. How you fell into this career.

Sure. And I bet my story is not all that different from a lot of the amazing artists that you talk about.

But, you know, as it happens, I was a probably a hyperactive kid, probably ADHD undiagnosed, and just wasn't happy sitting still in class. But I loved the outdoors and I loved to be creative.

I used to write a little newsletter for my little neighborhood kids with crossword puzzles and stuff like that, and put on SK reading exhibitions in my backyard. So just this kind of creative kid, but just a terrible student and, but, but driven.

And when it was time to go to college, you know, I picked a major that sounded good or that my dad thought sounded good and, you know, gave that a go, but I was just floundering. I got married young at 19. We just celebrated 40 years of marriage, which I. I can't even believe.

And my husband encouraged me to take some art classes at asu.

We had moved to Arizona from California, and that's when the light bulb went off in my head and I had the realization that I could maybe give this a go. I could combine my creative driven nature with new skills of painting specifically. And, um, and that's when I started my career.

So it's been 35 years so far, as a professional artist.

That's amazing.

And yesterday I went and I tried to scroll back to, like, the beginning of your Instagram, which is basically impossible because documented so well that I was so fascinated to see the consistency in your work. And even when you get really far back, you can see, you know, the development happening there.

But it took a long time to scroll back to really see there. And even then, there's so much consistency. I'm curious. You talk about being creative and driven, and I think some artists struggle with that.

Like, maybe they're only driven on the creative side, but they struggle maybe to be driven on the entrepreneurial side, which it sounds like you've had since you were a child. Do you feel that that has benefited you?

Oh, yeah. And I don't know how you teach, you know, motivation, how you teach that.

When I was working my way through college, I worked in retail, and I enjoyed it.

I enjoyed merchandising and selling and, you know, moving things around on a counter and seeing how customers reacted differently from one day to the next. You know, the art of customer service, how to really treat your customers well. And all that has really played into my career.

I am super appreciative, as I'm sure you are, as well, of your collectors. That's what makes your career possible.

But I also enjoy the creativity of figuring out how to create new collectors, and I think that's important as a professional artist in this world right now. We can't just rely on, you know, the older set of people that traditionally walked into a gallery and bought art.

Those are super important people, and they play a huge part of anybody's career. But we have to get young people and new people into the gallery and onto our websites to see what we do. And for me, that's like a puzzle.

I enjoy figuring out, like, how can I do that? How can I get my work in front of people who haven't seen it yet, who don't know they need it, but they do? And that's just fun for me.

Marketing is fun for me. And so, yes, I enjoy both my creative life as a painter, but also my creative life as a marketer.

I think that's really. I think you hit the nail on the head. And that's how I feel about those things, too, is it's another outlet for creativity.

And when we can help artists to see that it's creative problem solving and they're actually putting that skill at work, it becomes a little more enjoyable. Of course, people have to overcome that fear of not knowing how to do it at first.

But just like with our paintings, we continue to grow and learn as we do those things.

Yes, totally agree.

And, you know, and there's enough of us out there who have tried things and failed and learned things that, you know, there's always someone you can reach out to, to ask advice or help from. And I'm always, always open to do that.

That's amazing. As far as your work, we're going to talk about the exhibition in just a second.

But for people who haven't seen your work, how would you describe your work?

Well, that's the million dollar question, isn't it, Megan? You know, I've heard contemporary realism, I like the term New west, that that's being bantered about these days. I like that.

Honestly, Megan, I just paint what I see and, you know, it goes through your brain and it comes out your fingers and onto the canvas. And I just paint what I see and what's beautiful. I. I would say I strive to make it look like I saw it. I'm a very clean, smooth painter.

There's no texture in my work. Some people will look at something and say, oh, I thought it was a photograph, but I really don't think my work looks like a photograph.

It's usually more colorful and more, I don't know, abstracted, I guess. But anyway, that's probably the best definition or effort on a definition I can give you. I just keep my head down and keep working.

And what I would say.

So people can kind of imagine as they're talking about this, but luminous flowers, I think is the thing that really stands out to me is luminous plant life within the context of its environment. Often, or maybe always, you would have to correct me. Desert plant life and this show that you did at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum out in Tucson.

Now, can you tell us what area you live in? Are you living amongst these plants?

Yeah, so I'm in Northeast Mesa, Arizona, which is right near the Salt river. And so we're right on the edge of the Tonto National Forest.

The whole state in terms of plant life and geology is quite diverse. That's why I love it here. In the summer you can go up to the White Mountains and Mount Baldy and painting.

Looking at a piece on my easel right now, that's I'm painting from the White Mountains and, you know, it's green fields and pine covered hills and an old train trestle and bell flowers.

And then I can also paint from the Superstition Wilderness, which is, you know, just a short distance from my home, which is cholla cactus and opuncia and saguaro and Rolling Desert Hill. So we have a little bit of everything in Arizona, and my goal in my life is to paint it all.

Yeah. And you're actually getting out and getting your own photos for reference. Reference. Correct.

Correct. I. That's. That's half the fun. Literally.

Half the fun for me is ideally, if I could spend 50 of my time out in the field studying what I love, that just lights up my brain. And then coming back in the studio and spending the other 50 of my time, which is actually more. More than. But you know how it goes.

But, yeah, creating that. And like last week, you know, I painted all week so that I could take Friday off.

And then Friday I spent the day with a bunch of botanists in the Tonto National Forest, studying ancient agave cultivars, which is a fancy word for saying the agave that Native American would have cultivated for food and for their ceremonies and things like that, and learning about that with botanists. And so I love. Love both things. Like, I love getting in my jeep and going to explore. I just. It's. Honestly, it's kind of an obsession.

Just put a map in front of me, and I'm like, I. It just excites me. Where can we go today? What's new? What haven't I seen? What can I learn?

I love that so much. I am jealous. I would love to be able to. My time like that, usually it's in chunks for me. I go out in chunks, and then I come back and work with it.

But I. I really love that. And I think it's so true for artists.

We can think that working hard is just at the easel or at our table or whatever it is we're doing constantly, but we really have to feed our soul or that kind that creativity starts to kind of dry up. It, like, gets. I don't know, I imagine just kind of dry and crusty, and you got to get out and.

Yes.

And replenish that. Rehydrate.

Yes. And it's. It's a memory, isn't it? And I'm sure you find this with your work as well, when you're painting, you know, ranch life or animals that you.

You had your painting from, maybe a reference photo, but you're also painting from a memory in your mind that you had that you can maybe still feel in your soul. You know, the sun on your face, the smell of the pasture, maybe how the rope felt in your hand, and then that's what translates to your canvas.

And so that's what I try and do. As well.

I love that description so much, and.

Which makes me think, right before we hop into talking about your show, I know that we don't have to go into great detail about this, but you experienced an issue with copyright infringement, and I want to follow it after what you just said, because there's so many issues, especially with AI art and people stealing art right now, and what you just said about remembering the feel and the. The smells and all the artists are bringing so much into it. So can you tell us just a little bit about what happened with the.

Sure, sure. Be glad to. So. And I would encourage all your listeners to, you know, research and understand the value of copyright for your work.

Yes, you own the copyright when you finish the painting, but if you have to go to litigation over anything and you don't have that registration number, it might not go well for you. And so for me, I've been copied quite a bit over the last few years.

I actually googled my own image because I couldn't remember the subtitle, and I knew if I googled it, I would find it on my website or my gallery's website.

So I googled my image, and this Instagram post came up of this gentleman holding my image in his hand while painting a jar, a giant mural, with his other hand, literally standing there copying. And there was a video of him painting as well, and it was an exact copy of my work. And I just couldn't believe what I was seeing.

And so it was finally time to take a stand on that. And I did that for myself, but I also did that for other artists. And. And it's sad that it was another artist, you know, stealing from me.

So I contacted my friend Billy Shank in Santa Fe. He gave me the name of his copyright attorney. We had some funds to start the case, which was, you know, good. And.

And we filed a lawsuit with not only the artists, but the venue where the. Where the art was hanging, which was a big, fancy restaurant somewhere. And. And we won.

And it took a little time, it took a little effort, but it sends a message and sets a precedent, and I think that's important for us artists to do and also for just the creative community at large to understand and know that it's not okay to copy.

I had a artist recently do an exact copy of my painting and hung it in her studio and then took a promotional shot of herself for a show with that in the background. And that's just kind of false advertising and also stealing.

And so, hey, if you can't get your own reference photos to, to paint from, then you need to pay for reference photos or a partner with someone if that's not your thing. But we're all in this creative field because we enjoy creating from our, from our own selves, from our mind, from our souls.

And copying is not creating.

Yeah, that's so true. I'm so glad that it turned out positively for you. I, I, it does seem like there's been such a huge upt it for a lot of reasons.

And at our conference that we're having in October, we actually have a copyright and patent attorney who's going to teach artists in depth about how to protect.

Excellent.

They're allowed to do or not to do.

And I've attended his course before, and it is so good on both sides because artists, there are so many newer artists too, that they, they don't understand. And we feel like they should, like they should just know.

Right.

But they don't. And it hurts worse coming from an artist.

Like when an artist feels your stuff, yes, it's such an important conversation, which is not what this, this podcast is about, but it is good for.

Well, and I'm so glad you're doing that. I'm so glad you're, you're putting that information in front of your, front of your members. That's a valuable, valuable thing to share.

And I'm so glad you're doing that.

Well, and that's why I want to bring it up, because when you chose to take steps, like you said, you didn't do it just for yourself, you did it for the creative community. And so I think it's worth having a little conversation about it. But I do want to dive into this absolutely incredible exhibition that you just did.

And, and I have to tell you, Diana, and I'm not just telling you this because you're in front of me right now, but every time you create a painting, I'm like, she can't get any better than that. And then blows my socks off, too. It's just like every single piece is absolutely stunning.

And so I, and I go to Tucson a lot, and I just did not get down there for your show, and I wanted so badly to see it. But if you're listening, you can go to Diana's Facebook Or Instagram. I don't know if you have Facebook.

I follow you on Instagram and see so many of these images and pictures from the show, and I encourage you to do that. But I'm curious, Diana, how did the opportunity to exhibit at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum first come about?

Well, first of all, let me say that I love big goals and big dreams, and I feel like. I feel like those are very motivating things to have in front of me. And so when I don't have something big to prepare for or show or something, I.

It's not good for me. So I'm always kind of keeping my eyes and ears open. So I began a relationship with the desert.

Well, first of all, the Desert Sonora Museum is a wonderful place. It aligns with my worldview of taking care of the planet and taking care of creation and learning more about creation.

And then a couple years ago, I helped to start an art program at the Phoenix Zoo, and as part of that research, to start our own gallery space.

We were visiting the Sonora Desert Museum because they have a beautiful gallery space and have an art institution where they teach classes and then also an exhibit space. And so I became friends with the director, Marie McGee, and then Jennifer Lindquist, and they're wonderful ladies.

And we partnered with them with some projects at the zoo. And so just a friendship developed. And I actually just said to her one day, hey, when are you gonna give me a show?

And she's like, we'd love to have you. And I'm like, okay. So we looked at the calendar. You know, as you do as an artist, you look at your calendar and you think, oh, I have all this time.

I have all this time. That's way out there. That's no problem. Of course, it's never enough time, is it? But anyway, we started planning. They were amazing.

To partner with this particular show was a huge undertaking because I remember touring the space, and she said to me, you know, so we could put, you know, 40 to 50 paintings in this space. And the thought of 40 to 50 paintings when you only paint, you know, 20, 25 a year, was just overwhelming to me. But again, I love a challenge.

So I went about trying to figure out how I was going to exhibit that many paintings. Like, could I borrow back pieces? Like, what are the mechanics of creating a large show like that?

It was kind of a retrospective in that I was celebrating my 35th year as an artist. But also I really wanted to showcase case these new paintings I've been working on that really highlight the wild Places and plants of Arizona.

So I just consulted with other people that have done large shows.

I don't know if you know Heidi Priesy, but she had just finished a huge show at the booth, a collection of paintings she created based on the diary of a pioneer woman. So she was just fresh off of that. So I called her. I called Billy Shank, I called my friend Ron Burns.

I talked to Jane Jones, who had just done a big museum show. And I just gathered as much advice as I could and then created a plan to create the work and borrow back the work.

And what we ended up doing was because my gallery really wanted to sell the work as I painted it.

Which galleries do is I created an agreement with them where, okay, all this work I'm creating these next couple years, you can sell it, but I need to borrow it back. And so that's. That's how I was able to fill this gallery with 47 paintings.

That's amazing. What a huge undertaking.

And it's so good that you built backwards, because it's so easy for artists to think, oh, I'm just going to paint and get the things out there. But you had so many components that you were visualizing and balancing. Were your galleries pretty open to that strategy?

Yes, Initially we were just borrowing back pieces that were in Arizona, but then they started selling pieces out of the state. Now, that creates a problem because you have to ship them back, but, you know, they were motivated to sell them. So I'm. I'm like, look, you can.

You can sell it, but we have to borrow it back. And so all toll of all the agreements we made with these collectors, there was only one collector that did not. Oh, wait, yeah.

One collector that did not send a piece of art back, which was. Okay, because what.

Because the Sonoran Desert Museum, they're so great and so flexible and so wonderful and great problem solvers that I asked them, I said, so there's this one important piece that won't be coming back. And it's really a big part of my story.

Would you be opposed to creating a print of it and hanging that, you know, and just saying on the card, it's a. It's a archival print, g clay on canvas. And they're like, of course. Which was, you know, aren't those the words we love to hear as artists?

Like, I hate the word. No. Like, there's always a way. There's always a way. And so they were very agreeable to that.

Well, ironically, that particular piece became very popular with visitors. And so we sold it like five times older over because their collectors really loved it.

So it ended up being a financially great move for me because it sold so many times as a print, whereas if I had the original hanging there as sold, you know, I wouldn't have have made that revenue. So that worked out just great.

That's awesome. And for the all the collectors that did send it, what a cool thing to add to the history of that piece that it went back and was in this show.

As far as you kind of already talked about this a little bit, but I'm going to go ahead and ask it in case it makes you think of something different. But how did you approach organizing your time and your production schedule? And were there any tools or systems you used to stay on track?

Yes. So planning what I wanted to paint and how I wanted to tell the story of Arizona, wild plants and wild places.

If you're like me as an artist, you just want to get to the painting.

Like, the painting is the fun part and the sitting around and coming up with compositions and pinning them to a wall and stuff, it can take a lot of time, and I always feel like I'd rather be painting, but that's an important step to any successful plan. So, Stephanie Hartstrom, I think I said her name, last name, right. She's become a friend over the years. She was.

I met her at Cowgirl up years ago, and she's in Denver. Anyway, when we were at Cowgirl up one year, she described a way that she organized her compositions.

And she kind of made a wall in her studio, like a war room wall, where she would put compositions that she wanted to paint on paper on the wall. And then as she completed them, she'd move them to the other side and she was able to look up and see, okay, this will be good for this show.

This will be good for that show. So I implemented that.

I have a map of Arizona on my studio wall, and I began to create these painting pages and place them on the one side and then put a little pin on my map. So I knew that I was representing an area of Arizona that I wanted to share and then just slowly moved them over to the other side.

And, you know, that was visually motivating to do it that way because it's kind of like a to do list that you've checked off. And then. And then the plan of borrowing things back. I worked together with my gallery to do that.

And then again working with the Sonora Desert Museum. They also had a little gift store in the museum, and they're like, hey, we can have your scarves. We can have your note cards.

So I created a plan to make sure I had all that stuff in production and ready to go way ahead of time. And that was a big part of the success of that show as well.

And then publicizing, you know, you have to create a plan to let people know that you're doing something big. And so we had articles in Western art collector, American art collector, Southwest art, Cowboys and Indians did a piece on me.

All those things combined to make a really successful show. And on opening day, we had standing room only during my talk. And just a really successful.

There were only about 10 pieces that were actually for sale at the show. Everything else was sold. And I'm happy to say all those pieces are sold now and in new homes, so.

So, yeah, planning is important if you want to be successful. For sure.

That's awesome. Congratulations on all the sales. And I'm trying to think. I had a question that I was. Oh, your talk. I believe it's on YouTube, right?

If people want to listen to it.

Yes. Right. It's Wild at Art and it's on my YouTube station. Diana Hessen and the museum recorded it for me. They did a beautiful job.

So what a great gift to have from an organization that I partnered with to have that. That piece of video that I can then parlay into other opportunities.

Yeah, that's awesome. So if anybody wants to listen to that, which I do, I need to go.

I'm glad you mentioned it, because I had it up in one of my many open tabs for a while. I don't have time for this yet, so I'll remember.

Yeah.

Were there any ways that things unfolded in a way that you didn't expect any challenges or moments where you had to adjust your goals or let certain ideas go?

Well, finding out that that one collector wasn't going to give me their painting back, I had to do some adjusting there. We had to figure out how to get the work down to Tucson. So I have an amazing husband.

He's so supportive, and I. I can honestly say I would not have the career I have if it were not for him. And he just recently retired, and so he made it his job to figure out how to get the work down there.

So we had to get a, you know, the insurance through our homeowner's insurance insurance for the transportation down. We had to rent, you know, a vehicle to do that with.

We had to buy boxes and foam and make sure everything was properly wrapped, because when you're transporting other People's artwork. You don't want anything to go wrong. That was probably my biggest concern is making sure the artwork was safe. No one wants to fix a damaged painting.

And so that made me anxious. But we, we were able to work through that and I'm happy to say we had no, no fatalities on, on transporting work and that worked out really well.

Yeah. And I don't.

This may be who you used, but I know American Women Artists and Cowgirl Artists of America both have special rates with this company, but ship and insure and you can actually get insurance even if you're self transporting. Just someone has to be with the car the time. You can't leave it unattended. But they are great.

And I don't know if you've worked with them before, but they are, it's a fantastic organization.

That is great information. That is really great. Thank you.

Yeah. Now they don't insure it when it's on the wall.

Right.

Or whatever, but for transportation and they're very affordable and you get discounts with FedEx, I believe. So it's, it's worth looking forward to.

And if you're an American woman artist, member or artists of America, there's good, really good discounts for the membership fee.

Excellent. I love that.

Yeah. So seeing it all come together, what was it like for you to see the whole show up and be there for the opening reception?

Oh my gosh.

So again, these, these ladies down at the museum and they, they, I call them the dream team because think of all the things you would want your installers and your archivist and your curators to do for you. You would want them to give you updates that they're unpackaging. You would want them to send you a photo of your work going up on the wall.

You would want them to make little videos that they would put, they did all that. And so, and so I got a behind the scenes look at how the show was being put together. You know, it was, we delivered it and we let them hang it.

That's, that's. You have to let people do what they're good at.

And for an artist to stand around and say, oh, I rather have this fun here, well, you know, I have a decent sense of aesthetics and that sort of thing, but really you got to let the curators hang their work. And so that's what we did.

And so when I walked through the door, the walkthrough for the walkthrough a couple days before we opened, I of course burst into tears because it was better than anything I had hoped or imagined. And Marie looked at me and said, your work was meant to be here.

The mission of the organization, the gallery, the people that came through the doors, it just was the perfect setting for me. And. And so opening day, like I said, we had standing room only. The gallery was full of collectors and plant nerds and Arizona enthusiasts and.

Megan, that's what I love is. And I feel like you're probably this kind of person, too, because of the way you.

You run your career and you run your organization, but combining people, mixing people up in a room that have common interests and goals and I. Is the best thing ever.

Because even if it doesn't benefit you yourself, you can see these connections happening in the room, and, you know, good things are going to come from that. And honestly, that just lights up my brain so much. That just makes me so happy.

And so I just saw that happening throughout my show, and the people that came and saw it were just meant to be there. And so I was beyond happy. I was just beyond happy at the. At the results.

That's so beautiful. It literally. And I do. That resonates with me.

I literally got chills all the way up to the top of my head when you're talking about that, because it is. It's so powerful. And what a wonderful thing we can do as artists to use our art to bring people together.

And in a world that really, no matter what you believe, like, everybody in the world right now feels so scared and so much division with people. And as artists, we can bring beauty and we can remind people that we can enjoy this beauty together. And what.

What better way to help heal hurts in the world?

And.

And what a powerful thing we can do just with. With sharing our art.

Yes. And you don't need an app for it. I was. I was saying. I was mentioning this the other day to a friend.

I feel like with all our technology that's available to us now, for a while, it was making everything better, better, better. Oh, I can do this. I can do this. And I feel like it's hit the top and come down now where it's actually sucking so much time and energy out of us.

Like, just. Just to buy a pair of pants online, you have to create an account and then get a passcode and then do this, and then they send you a.

You know, a text, and it just. It just is so time sucking. And it. The visual arts are. Is one of the most relaxing and calming things in the world.

You can walk in a gallery, walk in a museum, Stand there, have a conversation with someone, look at the work. You don't need an app for that. You don't need to. You don't need a passcode. You can. It's just. It's analog. It's just.

It's analog, and it's so good for our brains. It sparks conversations. It sparks ideas. I feel that way when I look through a magazine, too.

I love paper magazines, and I'm a big proponent of supporting our existing magazines that we have, art magazines and Arizona Highways and that sort of thing, because you sit down and you thumb through the pages, you read the words for me, I look at the pictures, and it just sparks your. It sparks ideas. And that's what we should do as artists. We should be conduits for sparking new ideas and conversations.

And so, gosh, I just love being an artist in today's world. I think it's a mission.

Yeah, that's. You know, I hadn't even thought about it in that connection, but I had been thinking about that, like, analog life a lot lately.

I think there's this kind of move, especially people in. In my generation and a little older, that we're, like, longing for that to come back.

And as you were talking, I was just thinking, oh, my goodness, like, our children are gonna long for something that they've never experienced, because I don't think we were made to be online. And so art is one of those few ways.

And with art and getting out in nature, you know, going to a coffee shop and sitting with your friends, but so many kids these days, even when they're talking to their phone to their friends, it's usually on their phone. And what a weird thing to long for your body and brain. To long for something that.

Yes.

Never had.

Yes. Yeah. Interesting. Yeah. They never knew life without it.

Kind of off topic, but.

Yeah, I know, I know. Well, anyway, we're doing important work. You're doing important. You're doing important work, Megan.

Well, we. I think we all are, and we all. We all do it together.

I think anybody who is, you know, putting good things into the world and creating friendships and generating love and kindness, I think, you know, we're all. We're all in the same boat. And so when we can do those things, that's. That's so powerful.

Agreed.

Yeah. When you. When you look back on what worked well, were there any things that you felt like if an artist came to you and said, I am.

I'm gonna do this huge solo exhibition. I need about 50 pieces of art. What are your top three tips you would give me, what do you think you would say?

I would say, first, talk to other artists who have done it. You know, create a short list of people that you can talk to on the phone and, and learn from them. We can learn from each other.

If you're not a good planner, you know, work on the, work on your plan. Take some time to write down your thoughts, your ideas, organize them, make a folder, make another folder, make a sticky note. Really plan.

Close your eyes and visually walk through your show. What does it look like? Well, how is it organized? What is the story that you're trying to tell?

What experience do you want people to have when they're walking through the. Your, your show? And then make a plan to create it and dream big. If you don't know how to do something, ask someone else.

Reach out to your mentors and, and then just enjoy, Enjoy the process. Your brain will grow, your skills will grow, certainly your circle of influence will grow, and it'll be worth it.

I meant to ask you this earlier, but how long were you preparing for the show?

I think we had. That's a good question. I'm terrible with numbers. I think we had two years, maybe a year and a half, but. Two years?

I, I, it would have been nice to have longer, but you know, again, it depends on your production. And like I said, I only paint 20 and 25 paintings a year, so. Yeah. So, you know, of course more time is better.

Yeah. As far as looking back on how everything went, was there a lesson or a key takeaway for you?

Just that it's worth it. It's. It's just worth. Hard work is hard work, but it's also yields great rewards.

And I'm so glad I did it, even in the moments where I was just so exhausted. I'm sure you can relate to this. Do you?

You have a lot on your plate, and there are just days where you're just like, I don't know if I have anything else in me, but it's. I. Big goals are serve a huge purpose in the career of an artist. And I would just say, do not be afraid.

Don't let fear keep you from doing something that could be very, very rewarding in your career, especially as you get older. You know, I'll be 60 this year. Yikes. It feels good to have that huge accomplishment in my 60th year.

Yeah, it. Hold on. Two things. I'm going to write them down so I don't forget. Okay. So you.

So what a timely thing. I think the podcast I just posted yesterday talked about that a little bit, but it's something I keep seeing artists talking about.

The other thing, just general life wisdom, I think, is always so good. And something that I've seen in myself is that each decade of my life is a new. It's like a new version of me that's better and stronger and whatever.

And so I just turned 40 this year, which I'm very excited about that. But I'm curious, as you look back, if you're about to be 60, what did your 50s bring you that you felt made you a stronger or better person?

Oh, gosh, I just think 50s were great. I feel like I was in a groove. I've been in a groove, a good groove of producing.

Of producing stuff and being less fearful, of failing confidence, I think. I think age brings wisdom, but it also brings confidence that in.

In a world like going back to the digital world and how we have so much in front of us, it's easy to scroll and go, I'll never be that good. I'll never be that good. Oh, look at what they're making.

But my mantra, and I have it on written on my wall in my studio, is just keep your head down and keep working. Put your head down, keep working. Oh, you can only do what you can do. And what you can do is. Is enough.

And I feel like those ideas really resonated with me in my 50s. And just to not be afraid to take chances and. And to. This is really important, and this is my word for the year is humility.

It's important as we grow in our careers and we become successful, that we remember that we didn't get there alone.

To remain grateful and thankful for all the people that have worked hard alongside of you to help make your career, who have supported you, and to acknowledge that there's always better work to do.

If you start getting full of yourself, so much so that you can't even answer an email from an up and coming artist or whatever, then you've lost your humility. And I think humility is really important as we get older.

Yeah, I think that's such good advice about keeping yourself grounded. Sometimes I will say, I want to say, because I know I do.

Sometimes I don't have time to respond to excess emails because we get them a lot through cga. So I redirect some of those, but it's not. That's more about time and that right available. So I just want.

I don't want anybody to listen if they ever get redirected to be like, oh, she's not. Because it's not about that. It's definitely about time and directing people to the right thing.

But yeah, as an artist, when, when artists reach out, that we are able to build that community. And, and because we all. I don't know, I just, I really do feel like as artists, especially in the western genre, that we.

We're just all in the same boat. Yes, we're all. We're part of the same family and it's much better if we can.

You know, I also, I also want to say something about honoring our celebrated older artists in our life.

I feel like, especially in the western genre right now, there's a lot of amazing young, talented people rising in the ranks and they get a lot of attention. They're, you know, good looking, certainly talented, savvy on social media. You know, for lack of better words, they're rock stars.

And that's wonderful and they get a lot of attention. But let's not forget to honor the people that have paved the way.

I'm fortunate to where I'm going to be starting in a new gallery next week, actually at Ultramari Fine Art in Scottsdale and Jackson Hole. And Billy Schenck is represented by them and Dennis Zeminski.

And those guys have been doing this far longer than any of us and they deserve respect and honor and admiration.

And just because there's young bucks coming up behind them, you just need to remember who paved the way and who created genres that have forever changed the western art landscape. So that's been on my mind a lot this year too, is just honoring those people that have come before you.

Yeah, I think sometimes we have this idea of like honor or attention or prestige, accolade. I'm not really sure what the right word is, but we almost. I think a lot of people almost view it as like a limited. There's a limited supply.

And if you direct some over here, then that means others lose it, you know, And I think if we can expand our thinking about that too, that we can really honor and celebrate all across, you know, then that just one doesn't take away from the other. So, like what you're saying, you're not saying the younger people shouldn't be getting attention and accolades. You're just finding.

And the same with people who are promoting up and coming. They're not saying, you know, the. Not to forget about the older people, but I don't know.

I don't really know exactly what my thought is, but I think about those sorts of things, too, a lot because it almost feels like people think it's a limited supply when it's really not.

Yeah. It's a fellowship. It's a big fellowship. And I just. To be in a room with younger artists and older artists and establish. And up and coming.

There's room for everyone at the table and. And it just will make it, you know, iron sharpens. Iron will just all get better. And I don't think you should shy away from.

I have an artist friend that can't even look at an art magazine because it makes them feel terrible about themselves. And I. I don't want to be that person either. I think we should always be pushing ourselves. But it's a great community to be a part of, and it's just.

I just think I feel fortunate to be a part of it.

Yeah. I look. Yeah, there's room for everyone at the table. And iron sharpens iron. That is what I'm trying to say. That was per.

You're saying all the things that I want to say about that. And also, while we're talking about Billy Shank, he actually was just on Medicine Man Diary podcast because he's got a retrospective. Yes.

Gallery in Tucson.

Yep.

Opening, I believe, February, Right.

Yeah. Yep. I'll be there. Will you be there?

I don't. I would love to be there. Again, I don't know that I can make it. You're quite a long ways away.

It is.

But I would love to meet him because listening to the podcast, I was like, oh, the depth.

Yes.

His approach to things. And to be honest, I didn't know very much about him beyond just. Of course I knew his work, but I had never listened to. You know, I just.

That wasn't something I knew about. And listening to the podcast, I was like, man, this guy seems super cool. I would love to chat with him.

Yes. Yes.

Yeah. And there's so many artists like that that, you know, I don't. All artists, I feel like, are like that. We kind of.

Maybe we know their work, but we don't know the deeper story or the. The thing, you know, like knowing about you going out to all these places, literally having a map.

Like, I think people who listen to that, that's going to give them more understanding of the depth of Diana. And all artists are. Are like that.

So yes, it's a great community. We're very blessed.

Yeah, let's see. Well, I think we've kind of touched on everything. Is there anything you would want to say to the general.

Pardon me, to the general Western art community? We have newbie listeners. We have established artists who are listeners. So you can talk to either or both. But is there anything you would like to say?

Gosh, I would just say thank you, you know, to the artists that are working hard. Artists are some of the hardest working people I've ever met.

I mean, you have to be self motivated, you have to be organized, you have to be a lot of. You wear a lot of hats. And it's an amazing and honored field that we're working in.

And I would just say keep your head down, keep working, dream about doing big things, plan big things for yourself, challenge yourself, and then also reward yourselves. You know, when you've, when you've done well. I think that's important to take breaks, take a vacation once in a while.

I tend to just get engrossed in work and I need to get out of the house once in a while just to break that up. But just cherish what you do and enjoy it and dream big and, you know, let's all see each other at an exhibit sometime soon.

Yeah, that sounds amazing. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom and your experience. Experience. I think this is going to be a really val valuable podcast for our listeners.

Well, and Megan, I just want to compliment you again.

I just think you're an outstanding artist and businesswoman and dreamer and I'm just proud of everything that you've done and I just want to commend you. I know it's probably.

Some days it's probably hard to have everything on your plate, but those of us watching are, we're just admiring you and appreciative of all your hard work.

Well, thank you. I appreciate it. And I couldn't do it without a lot of other really amazing people for sure.

So again, thank you for being here and everybody, thank you for listening to Cowgirl Artists of America's podcast. I'll put Diana's website and contact information for her social media in our show notes. Definitely. Please go check out her work.

You need to follow her. She is one of my favorite people to follow. You are going to just be blown away, so don't forget to check her out.