Diana Coonradt

Diana was born in Pocatello, ID and spent her growing-up years on farms and ranches in southeast Idaho and in Salmon River country. Her one constant companion during those years was her love of drawing, coloring and books - something that sustains her still today.

Diana filled every piece of paper she could find with drawings, often raising the ire of her parents and her teachers. She always had a Little Rainbow Notebook with her that she filled with drawings. Comic books were her first teachers. As she grew older, she graduated to Movie Magazines, drawing the faces of her favorite stars. Upon entering high school, she encountered an art teacher who, with only a few sentences, killed her dream of being an artist. But luckily, her inner artist would not let the dream die.

Diana married, had a family, and helped her husband support the family in various ways. One day in 1977 she saw an ad in the paper for an oil painting class at a local craft store. On a whim, she enrolled, and produced a small 3” x 5” still life that still hangs in her art room. The rest is history! She has not stopped learning since that day.

Every time there was a class offered through the high school adult education program, she was in it. She bought “Teach Yourself” art books and followed their directions from cover to cover. She has studied with Sue Froeher, Darlene Hamblin, Norma Forsberg, Jan Thomas, Diane Turner, both Dan and Ken Baxter, Lester Lee, and Patty Bingham, all prominent artists in Northern Utah. She has traveled to Jackson Hole, WY; Moab, UT; Spring City, UT; and Boise, ID for extensive three to five day workshops.

She has paintings hanging in patrons’ homes in Idaho, Utah, California, Arizona and Nevada. Her goal is to continue to learn and improve. She creates in many mediums; oil, acrylic, watercolor, pen and ink, pencil, and clay. She enjoys doing still life, landscapes, portraits, and pictures that tell a story.

Diana is also a dedicated teacher and an active member of the Utah Watercolor Society, Moapa Valley Art Guild, and Virgin Valley Artists’ Association.