#29 Diane Messinger

Acrylic; not food safe

My grandparents began coming to Truro in the late 1920’s. They bought a house here, and while growing up, I spent my summer vacations with them. Because of those experiences, I dreamt about living here full-time. That dream was realized when I met my partner, Bill Golden, walking along Ballston Beach in 2002. Within two years of meeting him, I moved from Philadelphia to Truro.

I grew up outside Philadelphia but moved into the city to attend the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. This was during the raucous 1960’s. I attended college for three years. None of us felt it was important to get a degree then. Ten years later, I returned to school, studying printmaking at the Philadelphia College of Art. When I was about 40 years old, I thought it would be good to get a BFA so I could teach. I received that from Tyler School of Art but decided teaching wasn’t for me.

I have had numerous shows in Philadelphia, and my work has been accepted in juried shows all over the country. Since moving to the Cape, I have received the Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation Grant, have been accepted into numerous juried shows at PAAM, where I received a “Best in Show” in 2016.

I have always been a practicing artist. Doing my work superseded making money. I supported myself by waitressing and doing decorative painting. My work has always exuded emotions, whether it was abstract or figurative. At 73 years old, I have acquired new insights. These new feelings have enhanced my ability to express the complexities in daily life. The hope is to elucidate the contradiction of feeling apart but needing others. Although these figures appear to be alone, they cannot exist within the painting without the others. I hope to continue this work for many years.