AJ Arts & Entertainment

June 7

Tunkhannock exhibit: Hint of "Spring"

By Joan Mead-Matsui

TUNKHANNOCK - Diane Grant Czajkowski  didn’t have to dream of becoming an artist. She is one and has been painting and drawing since childhood.

“My goal was just to do what I loved to do and there it was, I was an artist,” said Czajkowski. “Professionally, I started doing a lot of commissions for people in the early 1970s and I still get requests for them.”

Her art will be exhibited at the Endless Mountains Council of the Arts, EMCA Gallery located at 302 West Tioga Street, Tunkhannock from May 21 to 30. An opening reception will be hosted May 21, 5 to 8 p.m. Her exhibit titled “Spring: A Ride in the Park,” is a spring solo exhibit that originated “because I spent a day in a horse parade, which was a total inspiration and reminder that we should pay attention to God’s creation of beauty that is made available to us all. While on a horsedrawn carriage ride, I was noticing the warmth of the sun and the peace of day, and truly I wish that everyone could share that moment with me. We need to see the good in life...,” said the artist.

Czajkowski of Ashley is a full-time artist. At her exhibit at EMCA, there will be a selection of oils, watercolors, acrylics and some mixed mediums. But does she have a favorite medium? She said, “My favorite medium is the one that best suits my subject at hand. But I do a lot of watercolor and oil painting and I have a new line of work in acrylic paints, some of that type of work will be in this exhibit.”

Her subject matter ranges from animals such as equine and canine, to history and landscapes. According to Czajkowski, “People seem to focus in on my horses. I enjoy them, I like being around them. I also love doing history scenes, like coal breakers and trains, and I have had solo exhibitions focusing on just them.”

She added, “I paint outdoors and then my subject matter is nature, sun, moon, earth and sky. The land is full of color and beauty and I like being out there in it, absorbing the beauty and hopefully that is what people experience when they see the finished piece of art. Sometimes I paint just colors because they are all so beautiful.”

Czajkowski has studied art at Luzerne County Community College and with some other artists of note. She has continued to study with professionals in their respective art fields as part of her philosophy that “art is learned by doing it, you need to experience it, and you have to keep in touch with it.”

She has won numerous awards for her art including the Judges Choice Award from the Cider Painters of America, CPA, 2009 International Exhibition, a show that included more than 350 works. and has participated in a number of other exhibits. She has been a member of the Wyoming Valley Art League for more than 35 years and is a “signature” member of Pennsylvania En Plein Air Society, a distinction that allows her to sign her work with the initials PEPS next to her signature. She is also a member of The Association of Miniature Artists.

Whether you’re looking for art to cover a wall or a piece to fit into a nook and cranny, Czajkowski’s work is available fits the bill.

 “I say that I do miniatures to murals,” said the artist. “My animal portrait commissions are generally 24-by-30 inches or 18-by-24, depending on subject, medium and complexity. I paint large paintings and I have assisted with murals 30-by-90 feet. Most of my work is around 48 inches or 2-by-4 feet. When I work in miniature there are standards.” Standard size miniature is 3-by-5 inches, depending on the organization or group.

Whatever the size of her art, it’s really about her passion to create. According to Czajkowski, being a successful artist amounts to “my passion for life, I seem to notice the special things that we often pass in our everyday lives. You have to keep on doing it because you love it. In the continuing process, that is where you really learn to be an artist. And in that, there is success, the real success is the satisfaction I get from doing what I love.”

Gallery hours at the Endless Mountains Council of the Arts are Friday, Saturday and Sunday, from 1 to 4 p.m., or weekday afternoons by appointment. If traveling a distance to see the exhibit, viewers are asked to call the gallery for exact hours. To schedule an appointment, call 570.836.3622. For those would like To preview Czajkowski’s work, visit www.DianesHorses.com.

 

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