Today we are meeting one of our fabulous European artists! Her name is Diane Birch. She contributes some great artwork in the Art Journal Emporium. Here is more information in her own words:

My name is Diane but I am also known as Di the Spy (from an old joke about a Welsh village ... not really all that funny now)

I live in Central France now that I've retired.  I used to live near Liverpool in England until last year.

I started out completely digital learning as I went along until I discovered the Art Journal Caravan in 2011.  My skills improved enormously with the help of  Tangie's video tutorials and inspiration from the prompts.

Since I've had more time, I have started using mixed media in my art as well.  I lacked confidence in my artistic abilities so had always been reluctant to invest in the materials needed to get started with mixed media.  At least with digital you can use other people's images and you get rid of mistakes as you go along.

I am so glad I made the move to mixed media!  It has brought back the wonderful feeling of creativity I remember from when I was a child.  I used to spend hours drawing and painting (mainly horses and dogs) and although the art critic within was growing in me, somehow it didn't matter quite so much.

My favourite art supply is probably.... everything!  As I've been learning about different media, I've been excited by one thing after another.  My current fave is rubber stamp carving.  It's so tactile!

I don't have a favourite colour palette.  I try to change the colour schemes so that my journal is varied.

I love every part of the Art Journal Emporium.  I can never wait for new things to be posted on Fridays (Saturday for me because of the time difference).  I am always inspired to create new things from the prompts and I'm learning about different artists too. I also adore looking at other members work.  People are so clever and art is so personal. I am always grateful when people share so much.

Here's a sampling of of Diane's Artwork:

To find out more about the Art Journal Emporium or the Art Journal Caravan, visit http://shoptangiebaxter.com.

[posted by Jen]