Diane Davich Craig

16 X 16 oil on panel
Exhibited at Customs House Museum Paintings and Ponderings solo show
Available through Lovetts Gallery Tulsa, OK
https://lovettsgallery.com

Bad things DO happen so you might as well try to laugh when they do. This painting was done after a long-time friend shocked me and really let me down. I felt she "threw me under the bus" Only figuratively, fortunately. But it hurt. I felt like I was Mr. Bill.

I have an old wooden ruler that says "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you." I often think what a utopia we would live in if everyone really practiced this. Whenever I feel someone has "done me wrong" my first thoughts are "man I hope there is some Karma out there." Then my second thought is if there is such a thing as Karma then what did I do to have this mess heaped on me? But I fully realize I am not always blameless and have created some bad Karma in my life. And feeling sorry for one's self and trying to get even aren't really very healthy or productive.

Anyway, back to this painting. I always loved the Saturday Night Live skits with Mr. Bill. I would guess that most of us have felt like life was using us as Mr. Bill sometimes when our feelings are hurt or situations are out of our control. That's life and if we can find humor in it, humor heals the soul.

I idealize the paintings of the late artist Charles Bell. I would have loved to have met him. First of all I would have a million of the technical "how did you do this, what's your favorite brush" kinds of questions but also he just had to have been a fun person to be around. His paintings are filled with humor and happy colors. My husband and I got to see several of his paintings in person in New York. You can't help but feel joy in your heart and pure amazement when you see what he has put on canvas.

I think Charles Bell would like the "Oh No!" painting. I hope everyone who sees it enjoys the humor and has warm memories of the times they watched the old "Mr. Bill" skits on SNL.

Diane

20 X 16 oil on panel
Selected by Oil Painters of America to be in the 2016 Eastern Regional show at Eisele Gallery in Cincinnati, OH
Available through Diane
ncpdiane@aol.com

Have you ever had a piece of clothing that you loved so much that you wore it until it was absolutely thread bare? Or maybe it was a favorite couch that made you feel so comfortable you used it until the threads on the corners were all that was holding in the stuffing. I think something that has become thread bare is a true sign of love.

My Grandmother made all of my clothes as I was growing up. Sometimes I was embarrassed that I didn’t have any "store bought" clothes. But I loved all the wonderful dresses, skirts, blouses and pants she made for me. When they did get thread bare, parts of them would end up in my quilts. I love looking at my quilts and seeing my mothers old dress, my father’s pajamas and my old blouse. I have one quilt that is just my old wool skirts.

My Grandmother, Nanny, was always busy. She told me she didn't understand people who got bored. She loved to sew, garden and cook. And she did every task with love in her heart. I have so many of her creations. One old quilt is so completely thread bare, but I can’t part with it. It has bits of all my family’s clothes that I can remember them wearing till they were ready to be used in another way. If you could love someone until they were thread bare. I would love Nanny until she was but a small scrap of material. I have her photo behind my desk and never get tired of looking at her smiling face.

This painting "Thread Bare" not only reminds me of Nanny and all the spools of thread she went through in her sewing, but speaks to me of loving someone or something as long as you can hold on to it. Thread bare is just another way of saying cherished.

My Mother and Grandmother not only never wasted a scrap of material but they also had a great sense of humor. After my Mother upholstered a love seat, Nanny took the scraps and made me a pant suit. (Matching jackets and bell bottoms were the thing in the 70’s). There is a photo somewhere of me in my pant suit sitting on the loveseat. It reminds me of "Where’s Waldo". It was my living room camo.

My wishes for you are many "Thread Bare" things and people to cherish.

Diane

20 X 30 oil on panel
First Prize Winner of the 2014 Artist's Magazine Competition
Selected for the International Guild of Realism exhibit at Tempe Center of the Arts
NFS - Artist's personal collection

This painting was done while looking at a photo I took on vacation in Florida. The old blue truck was just like the one my father, James Clyde Goodman used to drive. Daddy was a man of few words and many grins. The thing I used to see him grin the most over was his black lab Clyde. Clyde, (named after my Dad) was by his side every minute of every day.

Clyde adopted my dad on a visit to the Farmer's Co-Op in Columbia, TN. After Daddy finished shopping, he came out to find a black lab in the bed of his truck. He asked the Co-op employees about the dog and discovered the dog was homeless. Well, that was the start of Clyde's riding in the old blue truck. Clyde went for a ride pretty much every day. If the weather was bad he rode in the cab of the truck but he preferred the back bed of the truck. Clyde was pretty well behaved but just couldn't turn down a good chew. There was the time Daddy had a new pump in the back of the truck and got home to find all the rubber parts completely gone with only the metal left. There is also the time Clyde went to the Co-op with Daddy and jumped out and went inside the Co-Op picked out a dog chew rawhide. He then walked back and jumped back in the truck. On Clyde's way out of the Co-op Daddy said he heard the clerk say "Charge that to Mr. Goodman."

Daddy would tell Clyde stories with a big grin on his face and the story would always start out. "Let me tell you what that crazy scannel did today." I used to think "scannel" was a word. I realize now that is just country talk for scoundrel. Today I have my dogs Eli and Peyton who get to go for a ride nearly every day. Eli is mostly my dog and Peyton my husband's dog. Eli is pretty good. But let me tell you what that crazy scannel did today. I'll just say I need to buy a new door for the house.

You really can't put a price on great memories. And I can attest to the wonderful company a dog can give to you. Whether or not you have a dog and a truck to ride in, my wish for you is something that makes you grin at all the little mishaps in life and look at the bigger picture of who you get to hang around with and travel with to see the sights. Cheers to you and your adventures.

Diane

8 X 8 oil on panel
SOLD
Selected for "Best in America" exhibition, Addison Gallery in Orleans, MA, sponsored by the National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society

So many things in my life seem to be intertwined. Many of my friendships have been with people I have worked with in my music career as well as my newer friends in my art career. I want to tell you about a good friend Alice Pavone Paviglianiti. Alice has as much personality as she has letters in her name. I met Alice when I did a tour playing flute and piccolo with the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players. Boy did I luck out when I got her as my roommate for the duration of the tour. Alice is very outgoing and was a great counterpoint to my shyness. Alice lived in Florida and got on the tour bus there. I drove to Knoxville to hop on the tour bus and Alice was there to greet me. At our first hotel stop we got beer and watched the Olympics. That was when the whole Tonya Harding debacle happened. We had a blast. Not to long after that I got a call to play flute for Pavarotti in Florida for a television show. Most of the musicians were from Nashville but they pulled in some strings from Florida. There again was Alice. After that by some miracle her boyfriend and soon to be husband got his medical residency in Nashville. So Alice moved to Nashville and worked with me in my chamber music group The Nashville Chamber Players. We had so much fun together. We had several Lucy and Ethel moments off and on work. When I visited her family in Florida I met her father and brother who are artists. This was one of my first meetings with an actual working artist. It made a huge impression upon me. I wanted to just stare and take in everything I could about all the paintings in their home. There are so many things that made me gravitate to art but meeting Alice is certainly one of those things.

I sometimes feel like there are miracles going on day after day that intertwine our lives of today with our lives in the future. Only in looking back can we see some of random things that seem to build our destiny.

Alice has 4 children and lives in Pittsburg now. I got to see her a few years ago after not seeing her in ages. We picked up just like it had been one day since we saw each other. Thanks Alice for your wonderful friendship.

I am very thankful for the many things that have led me to my art, my music, and especially all the wonderful people in my life. My wish for everyone is to have many chance occurrences that enrich their lives that intertwine with the happiness of their future.

-Diane

20 X 16 oil on panel
SOLD
Awarded the Outstanding Still Life award by Women Painters of the Southeast in 2016

This painting is a smaller version of "The Great Escape" that I did earlier this year. It has a slightly different vantage point and cropping. While painting it CNN was running non-stop coverage of an elaborate prison break out in upstate New York. I started to title this "Break Out, Call CNN!" CNN was definitely in a rut in my opinion. While I paint I often listen to TV. The amount of coverage of the one topic of this breakout was incredible. Then to top it off there was another elaborate breakout following this one of a drug kingpin that was again covered constantly. I felt like they needed to break out of the break out rut.

We all get into ruts. I am planning my own break out for August. I am hoping to take a trip with my husband, work on getting our kitchen organized and remodeled, exercise more regularly and try to reschedule all the appointments I canceled during my rut of work, work, work. The icing on the cake will be lunch and fun time with friends and my husband Frierson. Whoo hoo I am going to kick up my heels and not have so many daily goals for a short time. Or is that a goal in itself? Anyway, a little “break out” here and there is good for everyone. And CNN you can take this as a helpful hint if you want.

I wish for all of you seeing this painting to find some ruts you may need to break out from for yourself. Go ahead, you deserve it – BREAK OUT!

Breaking out soon,
Diane

Together We Are Strong

24 X 12 oil on panel
Exhibited at Custom's House Museum
Available through Diane
ncpdiane@aol.com

"I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream."

These are the words I heard one day as I was creating this painting. It was the 50th anniversary of this speech. I had already decided on the title of the painting but the title was given more meaning by hearing again these passionate words.

Whether you are considering racial relationships, religious relationships, gender relationships and even marital relationships we can choose to gain strength from each other or choose in our division to become frail. I sometimes feel we can see in humans the same scars of rust from the weathering of harsh thoughts and actions. But just as these rusty latches continue doing their job they are stronger together than apart.

A photograph taken by Tina Manthrope inspired this painting. When I showed her the painting her first words were "very strong yet quite delicate". I could not have asked for a better description of what I was trying to communicate. The bonds of togetherness that we all seek are delicate and can be weathered by ignorance, intolerance, and apathy. But with love and perseverance we can hopefully overcome the elements and work together to create a strong bond. I am thankful for my husband, friends, family and the country we live in. We find our most precious bonds of togetherness with husbands and wives, sisters and brothers, mothers and fathers, and dear friends. Remaining connected from the closest bonds to the far-reaching bonds of our world and environment should be a priority in our life. My hope for us all is that we can recognize when division takes from us what makes us good and strive for togetherness, which makes us strong.

Diane

16 X 16 oil on panel
SOLD
Finalist of the 2014 Artist's Magazine Competition
Exhibited at the Custom's House Museum

Growing up in Columbia, Tennessee I was fortunate to live next door to my Great Aunt Ollie. The shortcut to Aunt Ollie's house required a jump up over a cement block wall, walking through the cow pasture (watching your every step), going past a large patch of tiny blooms of climbing pink roses and undoing a small wooden gate leading into her yard. Her yard had large stepping stones that took you past the shed, the outhouse, the chicken coop and her beautiful Iris flowers.

I remember going to Aunt Ollie's and doing the customary knock accompanied by "Hey Aunt Ollie it's me". Aunt Ollie would arrive adjusting her hair and saying "Excuse the way I look" even though she always looked great to me.

Even though her house only had 4 rooms she only needed three. As long as I can remember she never really used the living room. There was a kitchen that had a really low ceiling, a bedroom, the living room and the sitting room. Every room was tidy and had linoleum floors that had the background colors of this painting.

In the summer Aunt Ollie always kept a little oscillating fan running in the sitting room. In the sitting room is where I remember all conversations and activity taking place. Aunt Ollie had a very gentle southern drawl. Unlike the tones of my hillbilly voice her voice seemed far more dignified. The combination of the sound of her voice and the humming fan could make my stress vanish and relieve me of any sense of urgency. Aunt Ollie never got in a rush or even excited except for when a lightning storm was brooding, a cow got out of the pasture or the time she sat in my mother's recent yard sale find of a chair. It seems we found out rather soon why the chair was for sale. Aunt Ollie was the first to try it out. When she did the next thing I remember was seeing Aunt Ollie's feet in the air accompanied by %$##^ Good Lordy! Other than that Aunt Ollie was a calm person with a gentle voice. I have great memories of sitting with her and snapping beans and shelling peas just waiting for that fan to turn to the angle to hit your face and cool you off. We had plenty of sweet tea to help too. When I paint I can conjure up those same relaxed feelings where a calming air hits my face. My wish is this painting finds it's way to a home where it can help the new owner reap the feelings I had with Aunt Ollie sitting under her fan. I wish for you all the calmness, gentleness and relaxation that this painting of the fan gave me. Thanks Aunt Ollie.

Stay Cool,
Diane

30 x 24 oil on panel
SOLD
Gallery 202 Franklin, TN

"Wishing You" was painted for my friends Kelly and Ira. Kelly and I were talking one day and both agreed that life is about appreciating good health and having good times. Kelly told me that his mother in law would make this toast to them, "To good health and good times." I thought to myself what more could you really want? If you have ever had a health scare you know it is at this time your priorities narrow to a fine focus. You come to realize with absolute certainty that all you wish for in that moment is good health for yourself and the ones you love. The second thing you think about are the good times you have had and the longing for more good times. That clear focus reveals the essence of our happiness.

Kelly and Ira are wonderful people and I am honored that they hang this painting in their home. As I wish for them, I also wish for anyone who sees my painting "good health and good times."

Cheers to you,
Diane

30 X 30 oil on panel
SOLD
Gallery 202 Franklin, TN

"Say Cheese" - the flash goes off and a moment in time is frozen for posterity.

While painting "Say Cheese" I began thinking about how my relationship with my best friend Cathy Butcher was like being able to see an object for a painting with all the correct shades of color and clarity of line. If I hadn't really looked at the Brownie camera closely and just tried to paint from memory I would have never seen the big blue reflection of the bulb or the tiny squiggly marks both reflected and in the bulb. In fact it was a little shocking to see the reality of it. I struggled with whether to paint what I saw or paint what I thought people would think that they saw when looking at a camera. I decided to paint it realistically.

Back to Cathy and why I kept thinking of her when I did this painting. I think we all have met people that we feel like we have known for our entire lives. I met Cathy while playing in the pit orchestra for South Pacific with Robert Goulet when the show came to Nashville. I was sitting in the pit surrounded by other musicians but I was afraid to talk. I feared that with my "southern accent" I would sound like a bumpkin. All the while sitting behind me was little Georgia grown Cathy who was perfectly at home with whatever accent or anything she had. Cathy is one of the most genuine people you could ever know. If she's happy you see it. If she's angry you know it. (Even though she is rarely angry, she refers to that side of her personality as being prickly. She has some good words.) We can sit on the porch and talk and laugh for hours. She lives in Florida so we don't get to hang out on a regular basis. But when we get together our husbands know they will be hearing laughter and hilarity for hours. That's not to say we don't discuss serious issues. But somehow we still end up laughing. I look to Cathy as an inspiration for feeling comfortable in your own skin. I have always judged my own successes or accomplishments by whatever someone else thought. Cathy doesn't waste time wondering about what people are thinking and never is one to put on airs. If a camera could record Cathy's intent, feelings, personality and thoughts all frozen in time it would be all the same honesty of character that you see right before you.

I think painting has brought me one step closer (with many more steps to accomplish) to being a person like Cathy. I sometimes think you could call my paintings "nudes" because I feel like my most personal being is being put into the painting and in these descriptions. There is a freedom in surrendering to the real you for all to see and decide maybe they like you maybe they don't. One of my biggest fears all my life has been for anyone to see how unsophisticated I really am or know the humble background from which I came. In the second grade I told my teacher I wanted to be an artist or a classical musician. I think even then I was trying to shed what I felt people saw as a hillbilly girl who was clueless to anything with the slightest sophistication. Little did I know that I would love both painting and music with such passion. But it still couldn't erase being a hillbilly. I just didn't know there was nothing wrong with that.

I wish for you the freedom of being yourself, and great friends who give you the courage and inspiration to love and accept yourself a little more every day. "Say cheese" - take a real look at what you see and get on to celebrating the good that is in us all.

As always with love,
Diane

20 X 16 oil on panel
SOLD
Gallery 202 Franklin, TN

"All Dolled Up" is a term my grandmother "Nanny" used to say when I would get all dressed up. Pretty much the only occasions that we dressed up for were church services, funerals, and my piano recitals.

I grew up with very few clothes. There was never a need to change out a closet from winter to summer because clothes for every season always fit with room to spare. I shared a closet with my mother and I always loved sneaking into her clothes and trying them on when I played with my dolls.

My grandmother Nanny was very close to me. One of my favorite memories is Nanny letting me fix her hair. I could brush it and put in her hair rollers and make any spit curls with her Bobby pins. We never spat on them but we did call them spit curls. The final rendition would be the hair net she would add after getting everything curled and in place. Nanny would sing and whistle as she would iron her clothes to get ready. There were many songs but one of my favorites was "Oh You Beautiful Doll." I sing the chorus to my German Shepherd Eli almost everyday. Of course I substitute the word "dog" for doll when the song is for Eli.

Here's the Chorus:
Oh! you beautiful doll,
You great big beautiful doll!
Let me put my arms about you,
I could never live without you;
Oh! you beautiful doll,
You great big beautiful doll!
If you ever leave me how my heart will ache,
I want to hug you but I fear you'd break
Oh, oh, oh, oh,
Oh, you beautiful doll!
Getting "all dolled up" can be a super fun thing but especially when you are doing it with someone you love. It's not about what you wear or how your hair looks or even going anywhere special. It's just about having someone you love saying you look All Dolled Up and feeling "All Dolled Up". My wish for you is that you hear sweet words or songs sung to you for no other reason than to just make you feel loved and wonderful. And don't forget to sing a little song or pass on a few compliments to loved ones along the way yourself.

Diane

20 X 16 oil on panel
SOLD
Temple Arts Nashville, TN

I painted "Howdy Doody" based on a puppet and clock I purchased on Ebay. However, this painting has a lot more significance to me than just the subject matter. Let me explain.

On a trip back from a massage I decided to stop in at Gallery 202 on Second Ave. in Franklin. I wanted to see a painting by Daniel Smith that had been in the Nashville Arts Magazine. Upon entering, Jim the manager of Gallery 202, greeted me warmly. Jim is my kind of guy. I could talk to him all day and I just about did. He showed me everything in the gallery. My jaw dropped when I saw an incredible Warhol print of "Howdy Doody." It was spectacular and made a huge impression on me. I also loved all the paintings by Daniel Smith and Bill Barnes. "What a great gallery," I thought. And the warm welcome by Jim made an impression on me also. I didn't realize it till I got back in my car but the whole time I spoken to Jim I had had my shirt buttoned one button off and my hair looked like a rat's nest after my massage. Maybe when I told Jim I was an artist, he made allowances for my disheveled look. Jim told me to drop by again and bring in some of my work. When I returned I tried to make a special attempt to not look like I had not just crawled out from under a rock. I met Kelly the owner and the artist Bill Barnes, both of whom were as nice as Jim and very welcoming. Fortunately, they all liked my work and I have appreciated being represented by Gallery 202 ever since.

When I painted "Howdy Doody," I thought about those two visits to Gallery 202 when I saw the Warhol and met Kelly, Jim and Bill. That was a very, very special couple of days for me. I really couldn't believe I would have my work hanging on the same walls with some great artists!

Years ago, the Howdy Doody puppet made boys and girls feel happy and good about themselves. This is just what everyone at Gallery 202 did for me. As for the clock, the time is 2:02 in honor to the gallery and the spirit of the whole place. I hope wherever this painting hangs that it makes everyone who sees it feel at home and warmly welcomed.

My wish to you is that you encounter warm, wonderful people and a welcoming spirit wherever you go.

Diane