Florida Artists Group

Diane's Biography:

Ms. De Avila is a US Army Disabled Veteran and digital contemporary artist who discovered art ability after a relapse from Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and worsening traumatic brain injury (TBI) in 2017. The relapse immediately affected her vision and cognition and rewired something in her brain that invoked artistic ability. The rewiring happened quickly and dramatically, like a lightening strike. Something changed and she noticed a loss in short-term memory and an increase in a capability to understand colors and space - translating into art. She continues to translate her experience and perceptions into the eclectic and sometimes modern or mind-bending style that can be seen throughout her art. Her style is “consistently inconsistent” - with a modern vibe and rife with technical complexity. While the artwork is very different from piece to piece - utilizing different colors and shapes - the techniques are very consistent. She says that the process of creating art feels perfectly intuitive to her now. This intuitive process often leads her to the creation of one-of-a kind artworks that are unable to be easily replicated. Diana is a former engineer and also a former school psychologist - her brain tends to process things very literally and quantitatively. This can often be seen throughout her art. She tends to live life using more the left side of her brain working through a series of algorithms - numbers are her gig.
She engages in complex fractal art as well as modern abstracts. Her medium is completely digital and she has leveraged up to 8 (out of 20+) software applications to complete each piece. Currently, she prints her work on HD metal panels and HD acrylic sheets. She feels that these mediums best display some of the intricacies and complexities found in her work. Because of it’s digital nature, her artwork can be resized from small to large scale. She appreciates the flexibility that a digital medium provides and feels that this flexibility fits who she is as an artist. She resides with her wife in beautiful Sarasota, Florida.

Artist Statement:

Art was not something I was looking for, instead it found me. I create my art through bytes and pixels. Many don’t grasp the concept of algorithmic art, but this fits perfectly with who I am as a person vocationally and who I’ve become as an artist. Dealing with multiple disabilities that prevent some fine motor movements and cause visual disability, I find my artistic expression through adaptive technical modalities and devices. I have leveraged new ability despite disabilities and art has become a therapeutic endeavor for me. This marriage of technology and composition allow me to explore brand new ways of expressing myself. My art expression is a constant venture into a world of experimentation where each piece utilizes up to 8 different processes and blends artificial intelligence and fractal design with manual methodologies. All of my work is generated digitally and printed directly onto HD Acrylic sheets or HD Aluminum panels. These two unusual mediums provide a depth and brilliance that the digital art I create demands. I am an emerging artist that lives my artistic expression in the digital age and utilizes technology to bring my artistic inspiration to life.
Artistic abilities came to me suddenly after a relapse from Multiple Sclerosis and worsening traumatic brain injury in 2017. This became the spark that fired something in me and has led me to a life as a full-time artist in Sarasota, FL. I am retired due to disability and this has afforded me the opportunity to delve in deeply and create constantly.
I think of my artwork as little escapes from the hardships that come from living a life with a certain level of disability. I create my work from the vantage point of a Disabled Veteran with multiple chronic and progressive illnesses. My works are my own escapes into an alternate reality that exists through math formulas and the beauty of fractals. While not all of my works are fractals, I find much of my base in these beautiful and often spiritual and infinitely iterative designs. My works come to life as spurts of inspiration that demand follow-through. Sometimes inspirations come as a quick series of works - like my flowers or cool cats - and sometimes they walk the path of more modern, abstract work. Still others have an other-worldly or sci-fi feel. Each piece is a natural extension of inspiration that comes from outside of me. My art continues to be a perfect melding of left and right brained thinking - a cognitive amalgamation of inspiration and engineering.
I continue to find inspiration through my own abilities as have others who have viewed and experienced my work. It is my hope to continue to create art and inspire those who view it - both within and outside of the Veteran community.

Group Exhibits:

2019-2020 - “Inaugural Exhibit” Veterans Art Gallery at the Virginia War Memorial
2019 - “The Veterans Show” at The Delaplaine Arts Center
2019 - MSAA (Multiple Sclerosis Association of America) Four Seasons Art Showcase 
August 2019 - “ParkBeats” at Central Park - Osseo, WI.

Juried Exhibitions:

June 2019 - “Majestic" - "Made Fresh" - Art Center Sarasota, Sarasota, FL.
June 2019 - “Majestic" - "National Veterans Art Competition" - Tampa FL and USA
June 2018 - “Technicolor Kiss" - "Florida’s Finest" - Art Center Sarasota, Sarasota, FL.
Mar. 2018 - "Arabian Nights" - "REAL - NOT REAL" - Art Center Sarasota, Sarasota, FL.
Dec. 2017 - "Blocked" Diptych - "New and Now" - Art Center Sarasota, Sarasota, FL.

Gallery:

Sarasota Art Center - “Artsite”

Memberships:

Art Center Sarasota - Sarasota, FL
Venice Art Center – Venice FL
Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County - Sarasota, FL
NALAC - National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures
Veteran Art Movement - Frontline Arts - Branchburg, NJ
Veteran Artist Program

Education:

1996 - MS. Ed., School Psychology - The College of Saint Rose, Albany, NY
1994 - B.S., Sociology - Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ