Diana Kilburn: Knoxville in Bloom
May 7-28, 2021
Diana Kilburn: Knoxville in Bloom
Opening reception: Friday, May 7, 5:00-8:00 PM
Gallery hours: Monday-Friday 9 AM – 5 PM
In this new exhibition, Diana Kilburn will display watercolors inspired by scenes and outdoor floral arrangements in downtown Knoxville.
The flowers, meadows, and forests inspired many of my paintings when I lived in southeastern Kentucky for 20 years. Now, after living in downtown Knoxville for nine years, I appreciate the beautiful colorful plantings by the City and individuals who work and live within the city. I enjoy creating paintings that emphasize details found in these plantings and in scenes of our downtown. Painting with watercolors gives me joy. Watching colors mix on paper and textures created almost spontaneously feels like magic and as if the paintings are created by instinct.
Diana Kilburn received a Bachelors in Education from Miami University of Ohio and a Masters of Art from the University of Memphis. Her work has exhibited in galleries in Tennessee and Kentucky, and she has also participated in group and solo shows in Missouri and Ohio. She is a member of the Knoxville Watercolor Society. During the many years when she lived on Wood Creek Lake in Kentucky, she hosted a weekend artist retreat for guests from many states, teaching watercolors, serving gourmet meals, and leading hikes to a nearby waterfall. She also started teaching a watercolor painting class to a group of nine women, some of whom had not painted before. Except for the time of the pandemic, they have continued to meet together once a month for 21 years, calling themselves “The Escape Artists” because of their shared love of traveling to paint, exhibit and enjoy time together.
I would like to acknowledge Gregory’s Greenhouse Productions for beautifying downtown Knoxville with their seasonal plantings in planters and garden areas. Much like works of art, plants from Gregory’s Greenhouse make our downtown attractive all year. Pictures that I took of these plantings during several years Inspired paintings that I created in my studio.
Gregory’s company began as a dogwood tree nursery in 1991. Over the years, he started building greenhouses and learned how to grow many different types of plants. The love of community and plants has helped to create his current business of about 6,000 sq. ft. of greenhouse growing space, additional 3,000 sq. ft. of outdoors and about 80% of wholesale business. You can also find Greg and his beautiful plants at many of the local farmer’s markets. His information: 865-607-0030 or greg@gregorysgreenhouseproductions.com