About the Artists
Thank you for visiting us at MuralScapes and Portraits Unlimited!
Diane and David
Our home and studio is in the Maine woods at the edge of a tranquil pond. Our life is filled with small wonders each day–from the long, distant cry of a loon during the early morning hours, or a tree frog’s trill in the forest canopy at twilight, to the clatter of a visiting black bear checking out our bird feeders at midnight. And all things in between! We delight in the array nature has set before us, and it’s our hope we convey and share this connection through our artistic endeavors.
Diane’s beginnings…
My early life began as a California transplant to the shores of the Bering Sea in Nome, Alaska, where my family owned and operated a gold mine. Growing up in Alaska gave me a “can do” spirit, a natural response to living in an exacting environment. From a small child, I experienced the treeless beauty of the arctic tundra landscape filled with berries and wildflowers during the short, light-filled weeks of summer. All too soon, this same stark landscape would be turned to a white panorama, lit by winter’s kaleidoscope of colors fused in the snow’s reflections of the aurora borealis. This pristine beauty has stayed with me, and never fails to inspire me with a sense of wonder in the natural world. Drawing and painting, classical piano and the flute, reading literature, and writing filled the winter darkness with color, poetry, music, and a vibrant sense of life.
After bringing up three children with my late husband, I returned to school to complete my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. I was fortunate to be accepted into the Honors Program at the University of Southern Maine, where I graduated with honors in 1995, after completing my senior year studying art in an exchange program in Florence, Italy. Other avenues of art training include studies at the Schuler School of Fine Arts in Baltimore, Maryland; private instruction with New York artist Franklin Alexander; and studying on scholarship at the Rockport Photographic Workshops, in Rockport, Maine. I have exhibited and sold works in juried shows and galleries both in Alaska and Maine.
David’s beginnings…
My childhood home in Concord, Massachusetts, was surrounded by town forests where I spent hours walking and exploring with family and friends. Summers were often occupied with hiking the mountains of New Hampshire and the rocky shores of Maine’s coastal islands. From an early age through high school I drew and painted the natural world around me. While still in school, I collaborated in producing five murals for permanent display.
I attended the Rhode Island School of Design to pursue a degree in painting and drawing with an emphasis on the human form and still life, and finished my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree through the Museum School of Fine Arts in Boston in 1986. I also studied scientific illustration at Harvard University and RISD. After college, I worked for several years as principal set painter for an opera company in the greater Boston area. I have illustrated children’s books, and sold drawings, prints, and paintings in local galleries.
And here we are…
After our marriage in 1996, we decided to combine our talents, and in 2000 we formed a company to paint murals and folding screens. Over the years, we have enjoyed working with home owners and business people in successfully finding unique solutions to each client’s project. Responding to the encouragement and needs of our clients, we studied faux painting with other artists, including Robert Marx of The Finishing School in New York. We collaborate with interior designers as well as home owners to produce custom designed decorative painting, murals, and faux.
Because of the positive response we have received to the inclusion of animals and people in our murals, we also paint and draw individual portraits of people and their pets. Understanding the structure of the human and animal form is essential to the authentic portrayal of the subject. As we thoughtfully develop each portrait, it’s inspiring to see the personality and character that emerge. Others have said that one of the elements that characterizes our portraits is in capturing not only the likeness, but the essential spirit that makes each individual unique.
Thank you for visiting with us. We sincerely hope you enjoy our work—and browsing our website!
Diane Cothern & David Rubel