Persuasion Painting

Diana Aleksanyan Wainwright was born in 1981 in Tbilisi (Georgia). As a child she showed a strong interest in arts and crafts; always walking around with scissors, pieces of fabric and threads, trying to create her own work of art. And with coloured pencils; drawing everywhere - including the walls! Something that would be the foundation of her future artistic endeavours . Having lived in five countries means that Diana has experienced differing aspects of culture that have become a source of inspiration for her art. In fact, multiculturalism is a prominent component of her work. In 1999 she began studying Fashion Design at the Armenian Open University in Yerevan (Armenia). In the course of her studies, and after graduation, she worked in a pantomime theatre as an actress where she also created many costumes for performances. In 2004 she moved to Italy, for five years, where she studied Painting and Visual Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts, in Bologna. In her graduation portfolio she depicted the art of the oriental carpet, drawing upon her valuable experience working in an Oriental Carpet shop in Milan, where she explored the art of rug restoration and made a special study of antique carpets. Currently, Diana lives in Swanwick, Derbyshire, where she moved after her marriage in 2012. Since becoming a busy mother, to a wonderful little daughter, she still finds time to devote to her passion for art. “The Art of Diana” is based on portraying the local culture represented by the objects, shapes and colours of the multicultural experiences she has acquired, in her travels from country to country, and town to town. A particular period that has influenced her art is Art Deco, as a personal stylistic response to the floral design and geometric symbols typically woven into oriental rugs. The Female Form, Musical Notation (she is from a family of musicians), Venetian masks and Pomegranates (which are the symbol of her homeland) feature strongly in her work. This interplay of colours and forms is sometimes painted, intriguingly, within a woman’s silhouette: a message hidden behind the character. Carpets are Diana's greatest passion, she believes that the Art of the Carpet is not given the importance it deserves. A carpet is not just there to be admired but, like her exquisite paintings, can tell us a story - hidden behind the mask!