Artist Biography/Philosophy – Diane LaRouche

I was raised in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. I can remember having an interest in art from a very early age, and was always drawing and painting.

I attended the University of Saskatchewan from January 1983 – September 1987. I received a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree. I had originally registered planning to study linguistics in the Anthropology department. Luckily for me, I guess, the one professor who specialized in Linguistics was just leaving on sabbatical. She encouraged me to take a broad range of classes the first term, and then make a firm decision on what I would do. I took everything from computer science to anthropology – and one drawing class. That class led to a Bachelor of Fine Art degree, and changed my life.

After completing my degree, I was artist in residence at a local public school for a few months. My first job in the art world was at a commercial art gallery in Saskatoon. I moved to Biggar in 1989, working as the curator of the Biggar Museum and Gallery for 10 years.

People often ask me what I paint. The easy answer is "people". The more complex one is that I paint about spirituality, and humanity. I feel that our spirituality is innate, and very much a part of our physical world and selves. My paintings/drawings are very much about physicality and yet, I hope they have a spiritual resonance. I am constantly exploring and questioning the notion of sacredness.

I had a lot of fun last year creating a series of eight "Icons" which feature goddess imagery. They illustrate my belief that our need to express our spirituality makes us human, and always has. Most recently, I have been working on integrating drawing and painting in a series inspired by old masters drawings.