Kim Diment's art and love for animals started at young age. Her first field sketches involved the waterfowl from the backwaters of the AuSable River. She drove her parents nuts by bringing home toads, frogs, turtles and orphaned animals. Her brother dubbing her “Nature Girl” in High School didn't exactly put her in the teen mainstream but did develop character. After High School Kim’s formal training involved a double major from Michigan State University in Fine Arts and Zoology. She later went on to teach High School art for thirteen years while simultaneously pursuing her own art career. Kim training includes the influential workshops taught under Robert Bateman, Simon Combes, James Coe, Rod Lawrence, Mark Mehaffey, John Seery- Lester and Morton Solberg. In 2003 Kim moved to Grayling Michigan and started painting full time. In 2010 Kim and business partner Ken Wright, opened up the Main Branch Art Gallery featuring animal/nature inspired art. Kim is currently a Vice President and board member for the international Society of Animal Artists.
Style and inspiration for my Work
My artistic style involves a fair amount of realism. My animal subjects are generally accurately rendered with more interpretive background and foregrounds. I have experimented with using geometric shapes and forms in my artwork from time to time that act as symbols that indicate an endangered species or other point of interest. Another art style that I like to use in my painting is the blurring of moving animal parts. I do this quite often with birds flying birds and running animals. I find painting an animal photo realistically stops that animal and it becomes very static, blurring creates the illusion of movement. In many of my artworks, my style quite often includes the use of very dramatic lighting situations. I especially like backlit scenarios and Chiaroscuro lit scenes.
My artistic inspiration has always been about animals. It is what makes me happy in life. I like to be around them I like to watch them and I like to paint and draw them. I can only hope that some of the paintings that I have done will allow people to view them different and new way. I believe that in portraying an animal's character or its trials and tribulations in life and in some cases, even its humor, will allow people to understand that we have more endearing similarities with our fellow creatures than we might think.
My artwork has allowed me to travel to far-flung places all over the world. I'm equally enamored with animal subject matter that I find in my own backyard! I can be just as happy painting a opossum as I can be painting a cheetah. I love the act of painting these subjects but the experiences of seeing and interacting with animals in their natural environment are my life's adrenaline. An artist's passion shows up in what they paint, if they paint what they love and what they have experienced. I want to share my enthusiasm for these animal characters in my work. I hope that enthusiasm catches and people look at an animal in a different light.......maybe because of one of my paintings.
* This statement has been provided directly by the artist in association to their 14th International ARC Salon entries. This content has not been edited for typos or grammatical errors and has not been vetted for accuracy.
